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REO

Payrolls Up 162K in July; Unemployment Rate Down to 7.4 %

The nation's economy added 162,000 jobs in July as the unemployment rate fell to 7.4.percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 175,000 and that the unemployment rate would dip to 7.5 percent. Average weekly hours fell to 34.4, compared with forecasts of 34.5, and average hourly earnings fell two cents. Despite the increase in jobs, the report could have a major negative impact on the broader economy, as it showed more people with jobs but working fewer hours and for less money.

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June Marks 20 Months of Declines for Foreclosure Inventory

Completed foreclosures and distressed inventory continued their downfall in June, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. Data for last month showed 55,000 homes were lost to foreclosure, down 20 percent from June 2012. The level of foreclosure inventory also came down in June. According to CoreLogic's estimate, about 1 million homes were in some stage of foreclosure, which represents a 28 percent annual decrease. The yearly decline marks the 20th consecutive month inventory has trended down.

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Weak Household Formation Hampers Housing

The number of households owning homes rose a scant 32,000 in the second quarter, but the homeownership rate remained at 65.0 percent, the lowest level in 18 years, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. At the same time, the Census Bureau data showed the number of new household formations dropped dramatically in the first half of the year, an average of about 500,000 new households per month compared with 1.4 million new households per month in 2012.

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Largest States, Metros Post Monthly Improvements in May

From April to May, home prices rose 1.3 percent, with Nevada leading month-over-month growth, according to Lender Processing Services. The improvement in May marks the third straight month prices have grown on a monthly basis in the 20 large states tracked by LPS. The data provider also reported a 7.9 percent year-over-year increase in May as prices stood at $266,000 for the month.

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Investor Purchases Slow Over Last Year as Short Sales Pick Up

With the exception of short sales, activity for distressed sales was relatively calm in June, according to data from RealtyTrac. Last month, institutional investors accounted for 9 percent of residential sales. The share represents a slight increase from 8 percent in May, and a small decrease from 10 percent in June 2012. Meanwhile, short sales saw a significant increase over the last year, representing 14 percent of all sales in June, up from 8 percent a year ago.

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Fitch Anticipates Continued Growth for Housing into 2014

In the backdrop of a slow growing economy, Fitch Ratings projects the housing recovery will expand this year and the next-just not at an explosive pace, according to a report. The forecast for 2013 is for existing-home sales to increase 7.5 percent and for new home sales to rise by 22 percent. Meanwhile, single-family starts should grow 18 percent, and multifamily starts should jump 25 percent.

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Report: FHA’s REO Disposition Strategy Weak Compared to GSEs

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) needs to work on improving its REO disposition strategy so it can bring in higher returns when properties go to sale, according to a recent report from the GAO. In fact, when compared to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the congressional watchdog found FHA disposes its REOs at a much slower pace and sees smaller returns. After examining foreclosure timelines, the GAO revealed the FHA takes about 340 days to dispose of its REOs after foreclosure, which is more than 60 percent longer than the GSEs average of 200 days.

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New Delinquency Roll Rates Continue to Improve

The rate of performing borrowers who rolled into delinquency status decreased in the second quarter, Fitch Ratings reported Monday. New delinquency roll rates showed stronger performance across all categories (subprime, Alta-A, and prime), with non-agency roll rates hitting their lowest level since early 2007. Overall, Fitch's delinquency roll rate index fell to 2 percent in the second quarter of this year, down from 2.4 percent in the previous quarter and down from 2.2 percent a year ago.

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Home Price Boost Sends Sales Down in June

Existing-home sales fell 1.2 percent in June to an annual sales rate of 5.08 million as the price of a single-family home rose 13.5 percent from a year earlier--the strongest year-over-year gain since November 2005, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected existing-home sales to jump to 5.27 million from May's originally reported sales pace of 5.18 million. The median price of an existing home rose $11,100 or 5.5 percent for the month to $214,200, the highest price since June 2008.

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Report: Traditional Buyers Need to Fill the Widening Cash Buyer Void

If it wasn't for cash sales during the housing downturn, sales today would look much weaker, and the dramatic price declines over the past few years would have been even steeper, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. From 2000 to 2005, cash sales remained steady, representing around 25 percent of all sales. When the real estate market crashed in 2007 and 2008, the share of cash sales, driven by the rise in REO sales, jumped and eventually peaked above 40 percent two years ago. For 19 straight months now, cash sales have been declining.

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