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Market Studies

Mortgage Interest Rates Fall Back This Week

Two separate industry reports released Thursday show that mortgage interest rates across the board retreated this week, beginning the new year slightly lower than levels seen at the end of 2010, and still well below where they sat at the beginning of last year. Freddie Mac says the downward movement, however slight, ""should help aid the recovery in the housing market."" However, Bankrate warns that if Friday's jobs report proves positive, it could push mortgage rates higher.

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Report Says Struggling Cities May Not Recover for Years

A report conducted by a professor at the Rockefeller Institute of Government paints a dire picture for the nearing future of struggling neighborhoods and cities. The study analyzes the recession's impact on real estate markets in cities in the midst of a severe economic decline. It includes statistical analysis of trends in U.S. metro areas over the past 40 years, and the conclusion is that it often takes many years for housing supply and demand to become balanced again and for property prices to return to levels seen prior to the negative economic event.

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Trepp: CMBS Delinquencies Hit Record High Despite Market Optimism

The delinquency rate for loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) rose again in December with the percentage of loans 30 or more days delinquent, in foreclosure, or REO climbing 27 basis points to 9.20 percent, according to data released this week by Trepp LLC. The tracking firm says it's the highest delinquency rate in history for U.S. commercial real estate loans in CMBS. The value of delinquent loans now exceeds $61.5 billion.

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Clear Capital Reports 4.1% Drop in Home Prices in 2010

Clear Capital has released its home price report for the 2010 calendar year. The company's analysis shows that compared to where prices were at the end of 2009, nationally, residential properties lost 4.1 percent of their value over the last 12 months, with 70 percent of major markets reporting price declines for the year. The company is forecasting home prices nationally to fall by another 3.7 percent by the end of 2011, although the wild spikes experienced in 2010 will likely be replaced with more gradual price trends.

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Demand for Mortgages Fluctuates at Year-End but Remains Weak

The number of mortgage applications filed by consumers bounced up and down during the final weeks of 2010, dropping the week before the Christmas Day holiday and rising the week after. Market watchers warn that although a number of economic indicators have signaled improvement in recent weeks, the incremental boosts are doing little to lift the home financing market, which with mortgage rates steadily rising, looks to be situated for many more months of depressed activity.

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S&P Index Records Sharpest Drop in Home Prices Since 2009

The latest home price gauge published by Standard & Poor's recorded its largest monthly decline since February 2009 and its largest annual decline since December 2009. The data has led the firm's top analysts to make the claim, ""The double-dip is almost here."" The closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices registered a decrease in residential property values in all 20 cities included in the study between September and October. Sixteen also posted declines from their October 2009 levels.

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LPS: Foreclosure Inventory Rises for Fifth Straight Month

Recent market data analyzed by Lender Processing Services (LPS) highlights delays in the resolution of unpaid mortgages after the robo-signing scandal, and reveals congestion in foreclosure pipelines where loans are languishing and further adding to the shadow inventory of properties that will ultimately become REO and could slow home price appreciation. At the end of November, nearly 2.2 million loans were 90 days or more past due but not yet referred to a foreclosure attorney. Of these, one-third have not made a mortgage payment in at least a year.

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Massachusetts Foreclosure Petitions, Deeds Drop in November

According to the Boston-based research firm the Warren Group, both year-over-year foreclosure petitions and deeds decreased in November by double-digit percentages in Massachusetts for the second consecutive month. Auction announcements tracked by the company also fell in November, as overall foreclosure activity in the state reached its lowest levels in 2010. The Warren Group attributes the steep decline to delays caused by servicers' robo-signing problems and temporary foreclosure suspensions by major lenders.

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Regulators: Completed Foreclosures in Q3 Up 57% from Year Ago

New data from federal regulators show that the nation's largest banks and thrifts repossessed nearly 187,000 homes during the third quarter of 2010. The number of foreclosures completed during the three-month period is up 57.5 percent from a year earlier. The report shows that new foreclosures initiated also rose to more than 382,000. Although foreclosure activity increased during the quarter, servicers reported almost twice as many home retention actions as completed home forfeiture actions.

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Mortgage Rates Head Upward Last Week of the Year

Mortgage interest rates began to climb again last week, after falling the week prior for the first time in more than a month. Freddie Mac says the results of its latest survey reveal increasing mortgage rates for all loan products included in the study except the 1-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). Rates across the board climbed higher in a separate study released by Bankrate. More than half of the industry experts surveyed by Bankrate believe mortgage rates will continue to rise.

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