Market Studies

While having access to credit to finance a home remains a challenge, Capital Economics reported that signs show banks might be a bit more willing to lend. However, these ""signs"" aren't necessarily surfacing from data on the volume of mortgage lending, which continues to fall. The research firm said the value of mortgage lending has recently started to rise, and explained that this is happening specifically with commercial banks, which have started to lend more per borrower.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is still below 4 percent and showed very little movement since last week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.98 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending April 5, 2012, down just slightly from last week's average of 3.99 percent but a significant decrease compared to this time last year when the 30-year rate averaged 4.87 percent.

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell 6,000to 357,000 for the week ended March 31, the Labor Department reported Thursday but the previous week’s report were revised upward to show a jump for the week ended March 24 to 363,000 instead of the originally reported 357,000.

The valuation firm Clear Capital released the results of its home price forecasting models Thursday. The company expects residential property values at the national level to begin to show slight increases over the next three months, ending the year with a growth rate of 1.2 percent. Clear Capital's diagrams depict the valley shape with current prices at the bottom and a subtle upward trend from March through December of 2012. Markets in the southern part of the country are expected to perform the strongest.

HARP may have expanded its eligibility requirements to reach more borrowers, but according to a mortgage industry advisory firm, that doesn't mean marketing the program should be so broad-based. Mass marketing to borrowers without screening-out those that cannot qualify for the program will dramatically increase marketing costs, reduce productivity both at the point-of-sale and in the back office, and frustrate homeowners, according to a release from STRATMOR Group and Financial Literacy Solutions.

When excluding distressed sales, such as short sales and REO transactions, prices actually increased on a month-over-month basis in February, according to the February 2012 Home Price Index released by CoreLogic Wednesday. Though, when including distressed sales, prices decreased compared to the month before. Month-over-month home prices increased by 0.7 percent in February when not factoring in distressed sales and decreased 0.8 percent compared to the year before.

FICO's quarterly survey of bank risk professionals found a reversal in the sentiment of U.S. lenders, with expectations for loan repayments more upbeat in the first quarter of 2012 than they had been during the previous quarter. The results show fewer lenders are anticipating a rise in delinquencies on home loans than at any time since FICO launched its survey in early 2010. When asked about the availability of credit, however, the credit gap persists in housing, with lenders still unsure about the real estate sector.

Across the board, loan performance improved for February, and foreclosure starts were down compared to the month before in January, according to a report from LPS Applied Analytics. Despite the decrease in foreclosure starts, foreclosure inventory still remains near historic highs, while delinquency rates are at their lowest level since August 2008. Foreclosure starts were down 15.2 percent compared to the previous month, reversing the increase seen during January. Foreclosure inventory was at 4.13 percent in February, a 0.5 percent monthly decrease, but still remains high. In December 2005, foreclosure inventory was at 0.48 percent.

Despite the fact that key market indicators released in recent weeks have shown declines in home sales, anecdotal reports from real estate agents in the field suggest better days are ahead for the industry, according to commentary released Monday by the economic team at Wells Fargo Securities. Most agents are reporting ""significant gains in buyer interest and sales,"" and as a result, Wells' economists have nudged their forecast for home sales slightly higher. They are expecting sales of existing homes to top out at 4.50 million in 2012 and rise to 4.65 million in 2013.

With numbers from a CoreLogic report revealing 22.8 percent of borrowers are underwater, principal reduction has been eyed as a key solution to keep borrowers in their homes. The Center for American Progress has released a report detailing solutions to the ""moral hazard"" issue. One is to make principal reduction a one-time program open to borrowers already delinquent; another is to open the program only to current borrowers who are at-risk of default; and the third is ""shared appreciation"" modifications.