Market Studies

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its mid-year ranking of commercial and multifamily mortgage servicers. Wells Fargo tops the list, with 40,292 loans worth $462.8 billion in its commercial/multifamily servicing portfolio. Also among the top five are PNC's Midland Loan Services, Berkadia, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and KeyBank Real Estate Capital.

Default rates in July declined for first mortgages, but a larger number of homeowners fell behind on their second lien payments, according to data released jointly by Standard & Poor's and Experian. The companies' credit indices show defaulting balances on first mortgages were 3.2 percent last month, down from June's 3.3 percent, demonstrating continued improvement in the performance of first lien home loans. Second mortgage defaults, however, increased to 2.8 percent from 2.4 percent the month prior.

The U.S. thrift industry reported second-quarter earnings of $1.49 billion, its fourth consecutive quarterly profit. The industry consists of savings and loan institutions that by law are required to have at least 65 percent of their lending in mortgages and other consumer loans. With today's troubled housing market, their mandated line of business is proving precarious. The industry's regulator warns that thrifts continue to face challenges from delinquent loans, with the number of problem thrifts growing and overall assets declining.

July home sales in the state of California were down 19.9 percent from June and 21.9 percent from a year ago, MDA DataQuick reports. In the Bay Area, home sales for that month dropped sharply to their lowest level in 15 years, down 22.8 percent from July 2009. Southern California was also pummeled with its biggest year-over-year drop in more than two years, down 21.4 percent from 2009. On the positive end, the median price paid for a home last month in California was up 7.2 percent compared to a year ago.

Home prices in the U.S. rose in the second quarter of 2010, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The regulator's purchase-only house price index (HPI) is calculated using sales price data from Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-acquired mortgages, and last quarter was the first time since Q2 2007 that the HPI posted a quarterly increase. The index was 0.9 percent higher on a seasonally adjusted basis in the second quarter than in the first quarter of 2010.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday that its index of mortgage application volume climbed 4.9 percent for the week ending August 20. Refinance activity was the driving force behind the increase. Record-low interest rates are prompting existing homeowners to take out new loans and lower their monthly mortgage payments.

According to a report from state attorneys general and bank supervisors from across the country, more than 60 percent of homeowners with seriously delinquent loans are still not involved in any form of loss mitigation with their servicer. The ratio is disconcerting considering the group also found that loan modifications today are resulting in significant payment reductions with fewer redefaults. Absent improvements in foreclosure prevention efforts, the group expects hundreds of thousands of foreclosures will occur later this year.

Bolstered by favorable interest rates and low home prices, housing affordability in the second quarter remained near its highest level of the past two decades, according to an industry index developed by the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo. The study found that 72.3 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the second quarter of 2010 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,400. Syracuse, New York was the most affordable major housing market. New York City was the least.

Sales of previously owned homes in the United States plummeted 27.2 percent in July compared to the previous month, according to data released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The market was bracing for a noticeable falloff as payback for the tax credits that pulled sales forward into the spring months, but the reality was worse than projected - nearly double the decline analysts were expecting. The July plunge pushed existing-home sales down to an annual rate of 3.83 million units, their lowest level since May of 1995.

Despite the continued efforts of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to find sustainable workouts for delinquent borrowers, the analysts at Standard & Poor's expect the GSEs' foreclosure inventories to continue to swell. The two companies have each already completed about 40 percent more workout volume during the first half of 2010 than they did in all of 2009. Still, the ratings agency says annualized loan workout activity (as a percentage of existing delinquent loans) remains less than half at both institutions.