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Author Archives: Esther Cho

Report: High LTVs and Their Impact on Prices

Mortgages with higher loan-to-value (LTV) ratios are not only riskier in terms of the likelihood to default, but they can also impact markets by triggering greater losses in home values, according to the Home Value Forecast report from Pro Teck Valuation Services and Collateral Analytics. ""We have found that as home prices decline, homeowners with high LTVs are much less inclined to stay in their homes since they have little or no equity to protect. This leads to more price declines, which has a cascading effect on other high LTV owners and a further depreciation in home values,"" the report authors explained.

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MBA, AllRegs Partner to Produce Mortgage Credit Availability Index

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced a partnership with AllRegs Tuesday as part of an effort to offer a monthly index that measures mortgage credit availability. Dubbed the Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), the index calculates several factors related to borrower eligibility such as credit score, loan type, and loan-to-value ratio.

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RE/MAX Grows Global Reach

After 40 years of being in business, RE/MAX can now be found in more than 90 countries, the most out of other real estate organizations, the Denver-based global franchisor announced in a release.

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Delinquency, Foreclosure Rates Decrease to Post-Crisis Lows in May

The national delinquency rate and foreclosure inventory rate each fell to post-crisis lows in May, Lender Processing Services reported Tuesday. At 6.08 percent, the national delinquency rate in May stood at the lowest level since May 2008, when the rate was 5.96 percent. At the same time, the foreclosure inventory rate slipped to 3.05 percent, which represents the lowest point since March 2009 when the rate was 2.90 percent. Over the last year, foreclosure inventory has plunged 27 percent and also fell by 3.9 percent over the last month.

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Investor Activity Falls Sharply in May

As prices rise, investors are having a harder time justifying housing market purchases, according to a recent Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking survey. In May, the share of home purchases from investors fell to the lowest level in more than three years, dropping to 20.2 percent from 22 percent in April, according to the survey.

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Survey: 27% of Americans Have No Emergency Savings

If an emergency situation were to occur, more than a quarter of Americans said they have no extra savings to cover expenses, according to a recent Bankrate survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. In the survey, 27 percent of Americans reported having no emergency savings in their checking, savings, or money market accounts, while 23 percent held less than three months of savings to cover expenses, which means half have less than three months of funds to cover expenses.

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LPS Reports Strong National, State-Level Home Price Gains in April

National home prices, along with the 20 largest states, posted positive monthly and yearly gains in April, according to Lender Processing Services (LPS). LPS' Home Price Index (HPI) found prices in April stood at $217,000, up by 1.5 percent from March and up 8.1 percent from a year ago. The national HPI is still 18.2 percent below its June 2006 peak, when the index averaged $265,000. For the second straight month, all 20 of the largest states tracked by LPS saw positive month-over-month growth.

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