Market Studies

Fixed rates made a slight upward tick this week, Freddie Mac reported in its weekly market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.90 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending April 19, up from last week's average of 3.88 percent, and down from last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.80 percent. The 15-year fixed rose to 3.13 percent (0.7 point); last week the 15-year averaged 3.11 percent and 4.02 percent a year ago at this time.

Data through March 2012, released this week by S&P Indices and Experian showed that, with the exception of bank cards, all consumer loan types saw a decrease in default rates for the third consecutive month and in March, posted their lowest rates since the end of the recent economic crisis. The first mortgage default rate decreased to 1.88 percent in March, according to the agencies' report. Second mortgage defaults declined to 1.03 percent over the same period.

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) filed a federal housing discrimination complaint against U.S. Bank on Tuesday following an investigation of the bank's properties. The NFHA stated that the investigation of 177 foreclosed properties owned by U.S. Bank showed that REO properties in African-American and Latino neighborhoods were not as well maintained and marketed as bank-owned properties in white neighborhoods. The U.S. Bank investigation evaluated REO properties in seven metropolitan areas.

While the term foreclosure victim generally brings to mind images of struggling homeowners, one report released by First Focus addressed the impact of foreclosures on an overlooked segment: children. Julia B. Isaacs of the Brookings Institution authored the report, which revealed five years into the housing crises, 2.3 million children have lost their homes to foreclosure, and 3 million more are at serious risk of losing their homes in the future. In addition, approximately 3 million children were evicted, or may face eviction, from rental properties.

Based on a metric devised by Moody’s Analytics, GMAC, SLS, and American Home performed better compared to other subprime servicers in terms of cash collected relative to losses on delinquent loans. This was mainly due to shorter liquidation timelines that resulted in lower loss severities on liquidated or foreclosed properties, according to an article in Moody's ResiLandscape. GMAC's high metric is due primarily to shorter liquidation timelines and because the servicer maximizes cash flow on modified loans by keeping the re-default rates in line with the industry average even though it offers relatively low levels of relief in terms of principal and interest.

Housing permits surged another 4.5 percent in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 747,000, the highest level since September 2008, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Tuesday. At the same time though, housing starts fell for the third time in the last four months to the lowest level since last October. The increase in permits was driven largely by multi-family activity; single family permits fell for the first time since last September.

After 16 months of declines, median home prices in California posted a year-over-year gain, according to the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.). The median price of a single-family home was $291,080, a 1.6 percent increase compared to a revised $286,550 for March 2011, and a 9.2 percent increase compared to February's median price of $266,660. The month-over-month increase is the largest since March 2004. C.A.R. reported that California's housing inventory declined, with the Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family homes down to 4.1 months in March, compared to a revised 5.4 months in February and a 5.4 month supply in March 2011.

Builder confidence fell three points in April to 25, matching the lowest point of the year, the National Association of Home Builders reported Monday. The month-over-month decline was the first since last September. All three components of the index - current sales, sales six months out, and buyer traffic - fell in April, with buyer traffic slipping to a four-month low. The builder assessment of present home sales conditions dropped three points to 26. The outlook for home sales in the next six months also fell three points to 32, retreating from a near five-year high. Buyer traffic slid to 18 from 22 in March.

With reports that around 20 percent of mortgages are underwater, about 46 percent of bank risk professionals surveyed by FICO expect to see the volume of strategic defaults in 2012 exceed 2011 levels. Combined with concerns over strategic default are disconcerting results about consumer priorities. Combined with concerns over strategic default are disconcerting results about consumer priorities. Only 29 percent of bankers said the current generation of homeowners considers their mortgage to be their most important credit obligation, while 49 percent said its not a priority.

Following a disappointing employment report, fixed rate averages fell for the third week in a row, with the 15-year fixed-rate hitting a new low, while the 30-year rate continues to fall further beneath 4 percent, according to Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 15-year rate dropped to 3.11 percent (0.7 point), hitting a record low from when it averaged 3.13 percent on March 8, 2012. Last week, the 15-year's average was 3.21 percent and 4.13 percent a year ago during this time.