Market Studies

Borrowers who refinanced in the first quarter of 2010 overwhelmingly chose fixed-rate loans, regardless of whether their original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or fixed-rate, Freddie Mac reported Wednesday. In fact, according to Freddie Mac's quarterly Product Transition Report, fixed-rate loans accounted for more than 95 percent of refinance loans during the quarter.

Mortgage rates continued to inch down for the week ending May 13, 2010, hitting the lowest level seen so far this year, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.93 percent, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages sank to 4.3 percent.

One in every 387 homes in the United States was in some stage of foreclosure last month, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. The company's data shows that foreclosure filings were issued on 333,837 properties in April. While still elevated, that figure represents a 9 percent drop from the previous month and a 2 percent decline compared to a year ago. It's the only month in the history of RealtyTrac's report where foreclosure activity fell on an annual basis.

Bolstered by low interest rates and the homebuyer tax credit, the Illinois housing market continued to stabilize in the first quarter of 2010, according to a report released Tuesday by the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR). On a year-over-year basis, first quarter home sales were up in 54 of 99 Illinois counties. And 43 of 99 counties across the state posted median price increases from last year.

Marking a 10 percent increase from April, 22 percent of listings on the market as of May 1, 2010 experienced at least one price reduction, San Francisco-based Trulia reported Wednesday. According to Trulia, the total dollar amount slashed from home prices was $25 billion, and the average discount for price-reduced homes continued to hold steady at 10 percent off the original listing price.

Underperforming properties in states with weak economies led to another increase in U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) delinquencies in April. Both Fitch and Moody's put the CMBS delinquency rate above 7 percent, but interestingly enough, they have different takes on the pace of the increase. Fitch says April's climb represents a slowdown thanks to special servicers stepping up loan resolutions. Moody's says the April increase in the second biggest jump it has ever recorded.

Despite a plunge in purchase applications in the days following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, total mortgage application volume inched up 3.9 percent for the week ending May 7, 2009, due to a surge in refinance applications, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. Accordindg to MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the purchase index tumbled 9.5 percent from the week prior, but the refinance index soared 14.8 percent.

HOPE NOW says its first quarter data shows a surge in solutions for troubled homeowners. In all, the organization says the mortgage industry completed almost half a million loan modifications for homeowners during the first three months of 2010 - 476,192 to be exact. That includes both proprietary and government mod programs, and represents a 29 percent increase from the same period last year. HOPE NOW also reported that foreclosure starts are down 5 percent compared to a year ago.

The U.S. Census Bureau said Monday that the national mover rate increased to 12.5 percent in 2009, up from 11.9 percent in 2008--the lowest rate since the Bureau began tracking the data in 1984. According to the federal agency, 37.1 million people changed residences in the United States within the past year, jumping from 35.2 million in 2008.

Like a ripple effect, the recent recession will impact Americans for years to come, according to a new report published by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The study--Household Reaction to the Financial Crisis: Scared or Scarred?--found that the current financial crisis exceeded the devastation created by other post-World War II recessions, and is likely to have lasting impacts on the values and behavior of the current generation, much as the Great Depression had on its generation.