Market Studies

Despite an increase in new and existing home sales, home prices in 2010 slumped to their lowest point in December, according to a recent report by mortgage technology company FNC. The FNC Residential Price Index (RPI) attributes the decline in part to increased sales of foreclosed properties, and higher distressed-property discounts. According to the index, home prices declined for the seventh straight month in December, ending the year with the biggest one-month drop of 2010.

According to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, hotel deal volume in Manhattan will range from $1.9 billion to $2.4 billion in 2011. Manhattan is the most active hotel transaction market in the country, posting the highest growth rates of any major U.S. market in 2010. The report reveals that Manhattan is expected to remain the top U.S. hotel investment market, attracting attention from domestic and off-shore buyers.

After several months in which the nation's volume of non-current home loans declined, the contraction has come to an end. Lender Processing Services (LPS) says there were 6.92 million residential mortgages past due or in foreclosure as of the end of January. That's up from 6.87 million reported by the analytics firm for December. LPS provided the media with a sneak peek at its January month-end mortgage performance data, and the numbers show that both the delinquency rate and foreclosure inventory rate edged up last month.

A new study by analytics firm Interthinx says mortgage fraud risk has been spreading from ZIP code to ZIP code. The company's quarterly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report covers data collected from the fourth quarter of 2010 and tracks overall and type-specific mortgage fraud risk. It provides an in-depth analysis of fraud risk from specific ZIP codes. The report shows that previously localized risks in one or more ZIP codes are in danger of spreading throughout a metropolitan area.

A rise in stock prices has helped to grow consumers' net worth, but financial duress related to housing and a weak job market are weighing heavy on U.S. households and overshadowing any assurances that an economic recovery is underway. The nonprofit credit counseling agency CredAbility has released its Consumer Distress Index results for the fourth quarter of 2010. The organization found that the health of household budgets has fallen to its lowest level since the first quarter of 2009, causing many homeowners to miss mortgage payments.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on single-family residential properties dropped to 8.22 percent at the end of 2010, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday. That's down about 10 percent from the rate reported by the trade group three months earlier and is its lowest mortgage delinquency reading since the fourth quarter of 2008. While all delinquency buckets posted declines in Q4, loans in foreclosure tied the all-time record high in MBA's survey as resolutions were delayed due to robo-signing issues and case reviews.

Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages fell back this week according to industry data released Thursday. It marks the first time in five weeks that declines have been reported and follows a sharp spike last week of more than 20 basis points, which put the 30-year fixed rate at a 10-month high. Freddie Mac reports that the average 30-year rate dropped to 5.0 percent this week.

TransUnion reports that for the fourth quarter of 2010, the national mortgage delinquency rate dropped to 6.41 percent, down 0.47 percent from the company's third-quarter reading. These new findings confirm consecutive quarterly drops for U.S. mortgage loan delinquency in 2010, and almost a 7 percent decline year-over-year. On the surface, ""[t]his is great news...but not so fast,"" says a TransUnion spokesperson. The final quarter in 2010 marked the smallest decline in mortgage delinquency since the recession ended in the summer of 2009.

Consumer demand for home mortgages declined last week, according to industry data released Wednesday. It marks the second consecutive week that the number of home loan applications has dropped, as long-term mortgage rates came in above the 5 percent threshold yet again. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its measurement of application volume slipped 9.5 percent for the week ending February 11. The trade group's gauge has hit its lowest point in more than two years.

Foreclosure auction sales in states along the West Coast have bounced back to levels not seen since robo-signing moratoriums went into effect last fall, the California-based tracking firm ForeclosureRadar reports. The company's coverage area includes the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. ForeclosureRadar says it recorded ""significant increases"" in activity on the courthouse steps in all five states during the month of January, with foreclosure sales jumping more than 50 percent in most areas.