News

A drop in homebuyer activity following the contract deadline for the federal tax credit helped trigger a noticeable decline in home prices between May and June, according to a study by Campbell Surveys. The company found that prices fell in three out of four property categories last month. Average prices tumbled by 6.8 percent for move-in ready foreclosed properties, 6.3 percent for short sales, and 4.6 percent for non-distressed properties. In contrast, prices for damaged foreclosed properties increased by 5.9 percent.

The number of U.S. banks to go under this year surpassed the 100-mark over the weekend, as regulators closed the doors on community-based lenders in Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, and South Carolina. The seven closures announced late Friday pushed the 2010 failed-bank tally to 103. The pace of bank collapses this year has intensified as smaller lenders continue to book mounting losses from commercial real estate loans.

Now that the Obama administration can claim victory in passing financial regulatory reform, it's setting its sights on restructuring the housing finance system, namely the GSEs. The White House says it will put forth a formal proposal by early next year, and some say its focus will be a departure from the age-old adage of homeownership as everyone's ""American Dream,"" and shift support for the housing market from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the private sector. One thing is for sure, change is coming for the nation's two largest mortgage companies.

In an announcement Friday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner announced that when Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan leaves office on August 14, John G. Walsh will step in to take over this role. Walsh will assume this new role from his current position as chief of staff and public affairs for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a title he has held since October 17, 2005.

The Illinois housing market showed signs of sustained stabilization in June as both home sales and prices continued to increase during the month, the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR) recently reported. IAR said statewide total home sales - including single-family and condos - totaled 13,072 transactions in June 2010, jumping 18.3 percent from one year earlier. Additionally, IAR said June's median home price of $170,000 was up 2.5 percent from the same month last year.

In what seems to be an ever-increasing trend, sales of existing homes and condos in the Sunshine State continued to surge in June, Florida Realtors recently reported. According to the association's report, a total of 18,038 single-family existing homes sold in June 2010, jumping 15 percent from the same month last year. And data regarding existing-condo sales was even more impressive. With a total of 6,916 units sold last month, sales skyrocketed 33 percent from June 2009.

Habitat for Humanity International and the National Community Stabilization Trust have announced a new national partnership to help turn foreclosed and abandoned houses into affordable Habitat for Humanity homes. Through the Stabilization Trust's national Property Acquisition Program, the two-year partnership will give Habitat affiliates the opportunity to purchase foreclosed and abandoned properties from participating financial institutions on a ""first look"" basis, before the properties are broadly marketed and listed for sale.

The number of California homeowners entering foreclosure dropped to its lowest level in three years during the second quarter of 2010, according to MDA DataQuick. Lenders filed a total of 70,051 notices of default (NODs) with county recorder offices during the April-to-June period. DataQuick says its the lowest total the company has reported since the second quarter of 2007, when 53,943 NODs were filed. The company says price rebounds, motivated sellers, and accommodating lenders have played a role in bringing default filings down.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency said U.S. house prices inched up 0.5 percent from April to May. This marked the third rise in as many months, leaving prices 1.6 percent above the recent trough. The question now: Will this trend last? According to a report released by Capital Economics, May home prices were most likely boosted by the lingering effect of the surge in demand generated by the homebuyer tax credit. The macroeconomics research consultancy said now that demand is falling, it won't be long before prices start to fall too.

The strides made by the Federal Housing Administration in lowering delinquency numbers are turning into a long-distance marathon run. The federal mortgage insurer's delinquency rate dropped again in June, marking the fifth straight month of declines. According to FHA's latest operations report, as of June 30, 532,757 of the mortgages it guarantees had spent at least 90 days in a delinquent status, which equates to a seriously delinquent rate of 8.3 percent. That's down from 8.4 percent in May, and 9.4 percent during the first month of this year.