Foreclosure

Loan risk in the agency mortgage market came down slightly in June, but analysts warn that risk levels are still unacceptably high. According to the American Enterprise Institute's latest National Mortgage Risk Index, the share of home purchase loans at risk of going sour in the event of an economic downturn fell nearly half a percentage point last month to 11.44 percent.

Annualized liquidations of United States RMBS loans increased last quarter for the first time in seven quarters, according to a report issued Monday by Fitch Ratings. The conditional default rate increased in Q2 2014 to 4.92 percent after nearly two years of declines from 9.76 percent in Q2 2012. The previous decline was spurred on by shrinking inventories of distressed properties and a decrease in the use of short sales.

The Attorney General of Colorado has sued the two largest foreclosure law firms in the state for fraud stemming from violations of the state’s various consumer protection and debt collection laws.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released the June edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard Thursday. It paints a picture of a housing market that is improving but still subject to ebbs and flows of the broader economy.

RealtyTrac released a study Thursday for the first time ever profiling what single family homes sell at the deepest discounts and what single family homes sell at the highest premiums.

Corelogic reported on Tuesday that 47,000 foreclosures had been completed in May, a year-over-year decrease of 9.4 percent from May of 2013. As of May, about 660,000 homes, 1.7 percent of all homes with a mortgage, in the United States were in some stage in the foreclosure process. While still large number, it represents a 37 percent decrease from May of 2013 when the foreclosure inventory topped one million homes.

The government of New York is taking further steps to try to stem the tide of foreclosures that still lingers in the Empire State today. New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced the launch of the New York State Mortgage Assistance Program, or NYS MAP, which will provide targeted small loans to families with the aim of helping them avoid foreclosure.

Zombie properties serve as a lingering reminder of a housing market still in the midst of self-correction. They serve as a legacy of the recent housing crisis, a byproduct of lengthy foreclosure timelines and mercurial state foreclosure statutes. RealtyTrac recently released a nationwide analysis of zombie properties, examining both states and institutions that have the most zombie properties.

Black Knight Financial Services released its "First Look" at May Mortgage data, which found that foreclosure inventory declined to its lowest level since July 2008. As a percentage of total inventory, foreclosure pre-sale inventory is 1.91 percent, down 5.56 percent month-over month.

Serious mortgage delinquencies fell in Colorado from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, according to the Colorado Division of Housing. Mortgage delinquencies of 90 days or more fell to 1.3 percent in the first quarter, down from 1.5 percent to close out 2013.