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Improvements in the labor market in 2014 have not translated to rapid housing market recovery this year, according to the Fannie Mae August 2014 National Housing Survey. Instead, data in the survey indicated that recovery for the housing market will be slow heading into 2015. The number of people surveyed who said they believe now is a good time to sell a home fell six percentage points from July to 64 percent, an all-time low since the monthly survey began in June 2010. The number of people who said now is a good time to buy a home also declined to 38 percent.
The number of respondents surveyed who believe home prices will increase in the next 12 months stayed at 42 percent from July to August, while the percentage of respondents who say they think home prices will go down in the next year increased to 9 percent while the share of those who thought and mortgage rates will go up in the next 12 months fell to 50 percent. The average 12-month home price expectation also took a slight dip from July to August, to 2.1 percent.
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and the state's lawmakers have made a big push in recent months to pass legislation to prevent so-called "zombie foreclosures," which have become a significant problem in the state. The Attorney General's Abandoned Property Neighborhood Relief Act introduced into the Senate earlier this year would require lenders to maintain and pay for upkeep on foreclosed properties that have been abandoned by their owners, and it would also require lenders to notify homeowners that they do not have to move out until the foreclosure process is complete – which could take months or even years.
