Market Studies

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), a nonprofit research and policy group, rests the bulk of the blame for the recent foreclosure crisis in the realm of predatory lending. The group finds disparities in the types of loans that were issued to minorities prior to the foreclosure crisis and finds disproportionate affects of the staggering market on those minorities. According to CRL's estimate, about 3.3 million homes with loans originated from 2004 to 2008 have been foreclosed as of February of this year. Another 3.2 million loans originated over the same period were 60 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure as of February.

Even though credit scores play a key role in whether or not a person can be approved for a mortgage loan, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report revealing only one in five people actually obtain a copy of their credit report each year. In addition, these overlooked reports that are important in the lending process could also contain errors that go unchallenged. When consumers did dispute information on their credit report, the CFPB found that nearly 40 percent of the disputes dealt with debt in collections.

While the lives of those affected by Hurricane Sandy may not return to normal for some time, one research report suggests the storm’s impact on non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) may be much less substantial than originally anticipated. With some estimates as high as $88 billion, Opera Solutions released its own estimate based on neighborhood-level data Friday. The firm suggests the damage will be closer to $6 billion.

Home sales in California displayed a typical seasonal decline in November and fell month-over-month, but the median price posted both monthly and yearly gains, San Diego-based DataQuick reported.

As household formation mends and grows, the housing recovery will benefit overall, but the rental industry is expected to come out as the biggest winner, according to a report from Capital Economics. ""[W]ith the overwhelming majority of newly forming households over the next few years set to rent rather than own their home, the rental sector will be the disproportionate beneficiary,"" wrote economist Paul Diggle in the report. The analytics firm expects household formation to soon meet or exceed the rate of 1.1 million per year.

Fixed mortgage rates made small movements this week as fiscal cliff negotiations seemed to stall. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage(FRM) interest rate averaged 3.32 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending December 13, down slightly from 3.34 percent the previous week. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.66 percent (0.6 point), down week-to-week from 2.67 percent.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has a mission of making the American dream of homeownership accessible to low- and moderate-income families and first-time homebuyers. However, due to FHA's underwriting policies and practices, Edward Pinto, resident at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), argued the administration has instead put ""a high percentage of low- and moderate-income families and communities at risk of excessively high foreclosure rates.""

A significant drop in foreclosure starts brought down foreclosure activity in November, according to a foreclosure report from RealtyTrac. Foreclosure starts were filed on 77,494 U.S. properties in November, a 71-month low and the lowest level since December 2006, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. The decrease represents a 13 percent drop from October and a 28 percent decline from November 2011. While foreclosure starts fell, bank repossessions rose annually for the first time in 25 months.

Rental income of residential properties, which CoreLogic defines as ""gross rents for homeowners and renters minus the associated cost of financing and other expenses,"" rose 12 percent from September last year. Furthermore, ""[t]his growth shows no signs of slowing down,"" according to CoreLogic. The data provider attributes the 12 percent growth to ""fundamental shifts in the housing market, driven by a large increase in affordability and rising rents.""

Consumers are becoming more positive toward the idea of homeownership as home prices rise and the threat of delinquencies and foreclosures subside, Trulia reported Wednesday. Confidence in future ownership is especially prevalent among young renters. According to Trulia's American Dream survey, 93 percent of renters between the ages of 18 and 34 plan to purchase a home some day. For 31 percent of renters, that ""some day"" is actually within the next two years, an increase from 28 percent in May 2012 and 22 percent in January 2011.