Market Studies

The number of homeowners with a mortgage that were underwater on their loan rose to nearly one-quarter - or 23.2 percent - in the third quarter, according to figures released Wednesday by the real estate data provider Zillow. With home values nationally 25 percent below their June 2006 peak, the current housing downturn is approaching Great Depression-era declines, when home values fell 25.9 percent in five years (between 1929 and 1933).

During the third quarter, 2.7 percent of current mortgage balances transitioned into delinquency, according to the New York Federal Reserve. That's up from 2.6 percent that became newly delinquent in the second quarter. Fed officials called the increase ""slight"" but noted that the rise follows a full year of declines in new delinquencies. According to the federal bank's report, about 457,000 individuals received home foreclosure notices on their credit reports between July 1 and September 30, 2010.

Residential property values fell 0.2 percent at the national level during the third quarter, according to Integrated Asset Services (IAS). In front of a seasonal slow-down in home sales, IAS says the data foreshadow ""particularly difficult times ahead"" for the housing market and for the U.S. economy. The company's report confirms that the nation's most devastated counties are showing no signs of bottoming. The robo-signing controversy is expected to slow the housing correction even further as banks hold back foreclosures.

Home prices continue to plunge across much of the U.S., according to Clear Capital, but the company says it's seeing trends at the micro-market level which give credence to the old adage that real estate is local. Clear Capital's home price report released Tuesday shows that residential values at the national level are down 5 percent for the three months ending in October. Several markets in the East are bucking the national trend and posting gains, but Clear Capital also names six markets that have already entered double dip territory.

The Federal Reserve says both large and small banks are beginning to ease back on their credit requirements for ""some categories of loans"" to households and businesses. However, standards continue to tighten on prime mortgages and home-equity loans, particularly at smaller institutions. According to the Federal Reserve's study, consumer demand for residential mortgages decreased during the three months ending in October compared to earlier survey periods, with the falloff again most evident at smaller banks.

Industry data released Monday shows that the biggest originator of home loans is based on the West Coast, while the biggest mortgage servicer is based on the East Coast. With more than $100 billion in new home loans, Wells Fargo held onto the top spot among mortgage originators during the third quarter of this year. Bank of America took the lead spot in the mortgage servicer rankings, with just over $2 trillion in residential home loans in its servicing portfolio as of September 30th.

The turbulent financial crisis sparked overwhelming support by Americans for Congress to enact financial legislation to prevent future bailouts. But according to the findings of an academia study, the landmark Dodd-Frank Act failed to meet consumer expectations. Only 12 percent of survey respondents declared they were satisfied with the reform bill, while 54 percent of Americans were dissatisfied. Sentiment about real estate pricing and strategic defaults were also examined in the quarterly study.

The number of contracts signed for purchases of previously owned homes unexpectedly dropped in September. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) said Friday that its pending home sales index slipped 1.8 percent - the first decline reported since June. Economists polled by Reuters were anticipating a 3 percent increase. The fact that the September drop occurred before all the problems with foreclosure affidavits came to light, and created uncertainties for buyers of REO properties, means there's likely more volatility to come in home sales statistics.

Figures released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor show that private employers added 159,000 new positions to their payrolls in October - the fastest pace of job growth in the private sector since April. The government, though, shed 8,000 jobs, for net employment growth of 151,000. The gain was much larger than analysts and economists had predicted. Still, the nation's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.6 percent. It's the 15th straight month that the jobless rate has been at 9.5 percent or higher.

Single-family home sales in Connecticut fell 14.25 percent in September from a year earlier, according to a new report by the Warren Group. It's the first month since February that the number of home sales has dropped below the 2,000 mark. Condominium sales in the state also fell sharply by 23 percent to the lowest level recorded in September in more than two decades.