Market Studies

Phoenix home prices continue to rise, while investment activity appears to be slowing down, according to a report from DataQuick. From January to August, the number of homes lost to foreclosure totaled 19,998, a decrease of 49.5 percent from the same period a year ago, San-Diego-based DataQuick reported.

Ocwen made some waves when it announced an agreement to acquire Homeward Residential Holdings in a nearly $750 million deal, but Fitch Ratings is doubtful about the move. The ratings agency announced it has placed Ocwen's ""B"" long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) on Rating Watch Negative following the servicer's announcement. Fitch cited in its decision the risks of various difficulties involved in the integration of Homeward Residential, as well as the current regulatory environment in the mortgage sector.

Overall, major subprime servicers improved their ability to limit losses on delinquent loans in the second quarter, according to the Servicer Dashboard report from Moody's Investors Service. Moody's uses a cash flow efficiency metric to measure how much cash a servicer collects relative to losses. The report revealed that the cash flow efficiency metric increased for subprime servicers, rising from 0.27 in Q1 to 0.29 in Q2, the highest level obtained over the past five quarters.

Home-related loans struggled in the second quarter of 2012, while bank card delinquencies fell to an 11-year low, according to a report from the American Bankers Association.

Experts across the country wasted no time in responding to Friday's unemployment report, and the responses ranged from celebration to healthy skepticism. According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the unemployment rate in September fell to a 44-month low of 7.8 percent. The White House pointed to the data as a sign of a recovering economy.

The number of markets listed on the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and First American Title's Improving Markets Index (IMI) broke the triple-digit mark in October, NAHB reported. The index identifies metro areas that have shown improvement from their respective troughs in housing permits, employment, and house prices for at least six straight months. A total of 103 housing markets across the country qualified for the list in October, up from 99 in September and the highest level since the list started a year ago, NAHB said.

On Friday, Treasury released the Making Home Affordable Program report, which details performance from the nine largest servicers participating in the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program. The most recent August servicer report provided data on servicers’ ability to reach out to delinquent homeowners who are at least 60 days behind to inform them of the program. In addition, the report revealed servicers' performance when converting eligible trials into permanent modifications.

If current trends persist, this year may be the first year since 2006 the housing market records an annual price increase, according to a report released Thursday by Trulia. At the current rate of change, the year could close with a 4 percent price increase. Overall, asking prices rose 2.5 percent year-over-year in September and were up 0.5 percent month-over-month. Meanwhile, rent prices not only continue to rise but also are rising faster than home prices.

The nation's unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September–the lowest level since January 2009—as the economy added a below-average 114,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)reported Friday. The 0.3 percentage point improvement in the unemployment rate is the largest since January 2011, when the unemployment rate dropped from 9.4 percent to 9.1 percent.

For the second week in a row, mortgage rates hit new record lows, and for the first time since mid-October 2009, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is lower than the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for the week ending October 4 was 3.36 percent, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also fell from the previous week, dropping to 2.69 percent. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at Freddie Mac, attributes the falling rates to ""mortgage securities purchases by the Federal Reserve and indicators of a weakening economy.""