Market Studies

Thanks to an increase in springtime sales and the lasting residual effects of the federal homebuyer tax credit, U.S. home prices continued to increase in June, Clear Capital reported Thursday. According to the company's Home Data Index Market Report, June home prices came in 8.8 percent above levels experienced one year ago. And on a rolling quarter-over-quarter basis, home prices jumped 5.2 percent, bringing the nation back to within 1 percent of last fall's levels.

Despite a month-over-month increase in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) default rate in June, Trepp LLC--a New York based company tracking commercial real estate--still sees hope in its latest report. The monthly delinquency rate for commercial real estate loans in CMBS showed a jump of 17 basis points in June, coming in at 8.59 percent for loans 30 or more days delinquent. However, Trepp said this marked the best reading since July 2009.

A new study developed by TransUnion finds that consumers with multiple account relationships with the same lender outperform consumers who maintain only one relationship with that lender, with the biggest improvements in delinquencies seen among mortgages. The study found that borrowers whose only credit relationship with their lender was for their mortgage had a 30-day or worse delinquency rate of 4.8 percent. However, this delinquency level dropped to 4 percent if the borrower had two relationships with the lender, and that rate fell even further with each additional relationship.

Although purchase applications fell once again, total mortgage loan application volume jumped 6.7 percent for the week ending July 2, 2010, due to a continued uptick in refinance applications, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. According to MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the purchase index fell 2 percent from one week earlier, but the refinance index soared 9.2 percent on a week-to-week basis.

As fewer foreclosed properties sold and the impact of the federal homebuyer tax credit began to fade, May marked the first time in 21 months that Las Vegas region home sales dropped below the year-ago level, MDA DataQuick recently reported. According to the property data provider, a total of 4,386 new and resale houses and condos closed escrow in the Las Vegas-Paradise metro area in May, down 1.7 percent from April and 3.3 percent below last year's level.

Though property and mortgage performance remain weak, commercial real estate fundamentals are beginning to show signs of stabilization, according to the first quarter 2010 Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Quarterly Data Book recently released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). MBA said the economy showed signs of economic traction in the first quarter - with gross domestic product and job growth both firmly positive. And this economic growth translated into some stability for commercial real estate fundamentals.

Troubled homeowners seeking foreclosure assistance now have more resources available to them than ever before, according to the Center for American Progress. In a report released in late June titled ""Now We're Talking-A Look at Current State-Based Foreclosure Mediation Programs and How to Bring Them to Scale,"" the Washington, D.C.-based think tank reveals that the number of jurisdictions with foreclosure mediation programs is double what it was a year ago, rising from only 11 to 21.

The seasonal improvement period for delinquencies and foreclosure inventories has come to a halt, according to an industry report recently released by Lender Processing Services. The total U.S. delinquency rate jumped to 9.2 percent in May, inching up 2.3 percent from April. The foreclosure inventory rate remained stable at 3.18 percent. That means 12.38 percent of the nation's outstanding mortgages are noncurrent.

Commercial real estate investors have become both frustrated and disappointed at the lack of quality buying opportunities that many expected would have materialized by this point in the downturn, according to the second quarter findings of the PricewaterhouseCoopers' Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey. The report also notes that the unknown speed and strength of the economic recovery has many investors anxious, particularly with the large volume of commercial mortgage debt coming due in 2011 and 2012.

The nation's unemployment rate fell to 9.5 percent in June, down slightly from May's rate of 9.7 percent, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday. Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 125,000 in June, reflecting the departure of 225,000 temporary Census 2010 workers from federal government payrolls. Private-sector employment continued to inch up, though, as 83,000 new jobs were added over the month.