Market Studies

It looks as though escalating past due mortgages may be a thing of the past for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The federal mortgage insurer's delinquency rate dropped again in April, marking the third straight month of declines. According to FHA's latest operations report, as of April 30, 527,504 mortgages had spent at least 90 days in a delinquent status, yielding a serious default rate of 8.5 percent. That's down from 8.8 percent in March and 9.2 percent in February.

The Treasury's most recent Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) report shows ""extremely low conversion rates,"" with success just a 50/50 gamble, according to Moody's Investors Service. As of the end of April, servicers had converted almost 300,000 permanent modifications. However, they had also canceled 277,640 trial mods. Moody's says this represents approximately a 50 percent success rate. The report also shows 3,744 permanent modifications have been canceled.

NeighborWorks America reports that 58 percent of homeowners who've received assistance through its foreclosure counseling program say the primary reason they are facing foreclosure is reduced or lost income. The nonprofit says it's time for mortgage servicers and investors to make meaningful accommodations for borrowers facing foreclosure -- or prepare for even more empty homes and devastated neighborhoods.

The foreclosure crisis in California has taken a toll on not only homeowners, but a large number of tenants in the state. According to a new study from a statewide organization, at least 37 percent of residential units in foreclosure in the Golden State last year were rentals, directly affecting over 200,000 tenants - most of whom were displaced.

Twenty months after the massive, multi-billion dollar federal bailouts designed to shore up the nation's largest banks, Weiss Ratings finds that Bank of America, Citibank, and thousands more are still vulnerable to financial difficulties or even possible failure. Weiss Ratings says major U.S. banks continue to be plagued by toxic assets and an inability to raise capital. As a result, the company has given 2,259 banks, controlling $5.8 trillion or 43.8 percent of the industry's total assets, a rating of D+ or lower, which translates to ""weak.""

Mortgage interest rates have fallen to their lowest level of the year. Economists say homebuyers have the financial turmoil in Europe to thank for that, as overseas investors have put their dollars instead towards what they see as safer U.S. Treasury securities, which are closely tied to rates for home loans. Freddie Mac puts the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage this week at 4.78 percent. Bankrate says 30-year fixed-rate home loans are averaging 4.92 percent at the nation's 10 largest banks.

A report released this week by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says the U.S. Federal Reserve more than doubled the size of its asset portfolio to over $2 trillion through its purchases of mortgage-backed securities and other crisis-mode acquisitions, and assumed far more risk than is considered ""normal"" for the central bank. But the risk-taking Fed is proving to be a savoir-faire investor. According to CBO estimates, the central bank will turn a record $70 billion profit this year.

April marked yet another month of increased sales activity in Florida's residential real estate market. According to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors, existing home sales surged 27 percent in April from the same month last year, and during the same period, existing condo sales soared 55 percent. Homebuying conditions in the Sunshine State remain favorable, with a variety of housing options available in local markets at attractive prices.

It's hard to pinpoint just what brought the nation's thriving residential real estate market to its knees. Everyone's got an opinion, but trying to nail down the exact trigger in order to prevent a sequel is a difficult task. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is attempting to do just that. According to a study released Wednesday by the trade group, it was poor risk management habits, coupled with a short-term focus and unrealistic optimism among senior business managers that brought down the U.S. housing and mortgage markets.

The commercial real estate market continues to be plagued with rising vacancy rates. But according to a recent report by the National Association of Realtors, vacancies should level out in most markets by the end of this year or early 2011. The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), in its SIOR Commercial Real Estate Index, an attitudinal survey of nearly 700 local market experts, confirmed that significant fallout from the recession remains, but to a lesser extent.