News

Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio expanded in April, but growth slowed as purchase and issuance activity declined from March, the GSE reported. According to Freddie Mac's monthly volume summary, its total portfolio grew at an annualized rate of 0.6 percent last month, a setback compared to March's 4.0 percent growth rate but still above January and February's contracting figures. As of the end of the month, the portfolio's ending balance was about $1.95 trillion.

Recent reports from the National Association of Realtors and the Census Bureau/HUD showed sharp increases in unit sales and prices, as well as increases in the inventory of homes for sale for April. Has housing turned the corner? Look again. Sales up, prices up, what's wrong with this picture? The last time both prices and sales of new homes increased in the same month was last September. In all of 2012, sales and prices moved in opposite directions in seven of the 12 months. What of course is missing from the two data sets is any indication of demand.

As institutional investor activity continues in California, PropertyRadar decided to take a look at who these investors are and their purchase patterns. To rule out smaller and individual investors, PropertyRadar tracked transfers in qualities greater than 10 from an LLC or LP. The firm reported LLC and LP purchases represented only 5.1 percent of transfer activity in 2012 and 4.5 percent in 2013. However, upon closer examination, PropertyRadar found institutional investor activity was mainly concentrated in certain counties.

In April, the share of sales involving foreclosures and short sales maintained their downward path, falling to the lowest level since 2009, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking survey. Using a three-month moving average, the survey found distressed sales accounted for 33 percent of home purchases in April, a decrease from 35.6 percent in March and 43.6 percent in April 2012. As expected, investor activity also slowed during the same time period.

Freddie Mac is in the process of securitizing over $1 billion in performing loans that were modified. The modified loans have been performing for at least six consecutive months and were held in the company's mortgage portfolio. ""Securitizing loans that have been modified and are now performing will allow Freddie Mac to better manage its mortgage-related investments portfolio,"" said Adama Kah, Freddie Mac VP of distressed assets management.

Fixed mortgage rates trended higher for the third consecutive week, according to reports from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.59 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending May 23, up from 3.51 percent the previous week. The 15-year FRM was also up, averaging 2.77 percent (0.7 point) from 2.69 percent previously.

According to Zillow, the national negative equity rate was 25.4 percent in the last quarter compared to 27.5 percent at the end of 2012. That percentage represents slightly more than 13 million homeowners with a mortgage, Zillow said. However, when including homeowners with less than 20 percent home equity, the ""effective"" negative equity rate climbs to 43.6 percent, or a total of 22.3 million homeowners. Zillow explained that these homeowners likely can't afford a down payment for a new home, tying them to their current homes and exacerbating the inventory shortage.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported members who practice commercial real estate saw median income rise to the highest level since 2008, reflecting progress in the commercial sector. In 2012, commercial Realtors reported a median annual income of $90,200 in 2012, up from $86,000 in 2011, according to NAR's 2012 Commercial Member Profile. Among NAR members in commercial real estate, brokers and appraisers brought in the highest income last year, and sales agents reported the lowest. Most members--60 percent--were brokers, while 25 percent were sales agents.

U.S. home prices appreciated at a strong pace in the first quarter as prices rose 1.9 percent from the previous quarter, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported. The quarterly gain marks the seventh straight increase. Compared to the first quarter of 2012, prices were up by 6.7 percent, according to the FHFA's seasonally adjusted, purchase only House Price Index (HPI). From February to March, the index increased by 1.3 percent. FHFA also reported 41 states plus the District of Columbia experienced quarterly price gains.

The price of a new single-family home soared to a record high in April as sales jumped 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Thursday. The median price of a new home, according to the Census/HUD report, soared $20,900 (8.3 percent) in April to $271,600, the highest price on record. The inventory of homes available for sale rose to 155,000--the highest level since November 2011--translating to a 3.5 month supply, matching March for a record low.