Market Studies

The data shows home price declines and increased time on the market has moved the September housing market from a seller's market to a buyer's market. This transition means that it is easier for buyers to purchase a home compared to any other time so far this year.

In a report titled "Single-Family Rentals: A New Approach to Affordable Housing" by Center Creek Capital Founder Dan Magder and Urban Institute Director of Housing Finance Policy Laurie Goodman released Monday, the authors say SFR should be considered by policymakers as an integral part an affordable housing strategy because of volume, location, neighborhood impact, and affordability.

According to the NAR's Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), contract signings decreased 1.4 percent to 109.4 in August, down from 110.9 in July. However, the index is still 6.1 percent higher that 103.1 recorded in August 2014.

JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bancorp all experienced yet another decrease in their third-party mortgage servicing portfolios in the second quarter of 2015.

In the second estimate for Q2 released in August, real GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.7 percent; in the "advance estimate" released at the end of July, it grew at a rate of 2.3 percent. In the third and final estimate for Q1, GDP growth was a mere 0.6 percent, way below expectations.

"Despite the continuing rise in overall subprime originations, banks are still greatly limiting their high-risk exposure," Cutts said. "The credit score of the borrower at the 10th percentile of newly originated first mortgages today is 650. For HELOCs, it's 700."

The share has risen above previous year levels since April 2015, reflecting improvements within the labor market, riskier mortgage lending, and continuing low mortgage rates.

Ambiguity and/or delays in the loan modification process were a frequent subject of the complaints, while others said they were not considered for all loss mitigation options available, they were incorrectly denied a modification, or the terms of the modification were unfavorable.

Industry panelists from a number of companies came together in the lab to talk about regulation, non-depository lending, mortgage servicing rights, and REO to loan products in the three and a half hour lab.

Nevada had the highest share of residential properties in negative equity (commonly referred to as "underwater" or "upside down") in Q2 with 20.6 percent, followed by Florida, Arizona, Rhode Island, and Illinois, according to CoreLogic.