Tag Archives: Negative Equity

Fueled by a $370 billion jump in the value of household real estate, household net worth grew $1.7 trillion in the third quarter to $64.8 trillion, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday in its quarterly Flow of Funds report. And, while the value of owner-occupied household real estate increased, total residential mortgage debt fell $85.8 billion. As a result, owners' equity increased almost $390 billion. Homeowners' equity as a percentage of the value of the real estate rose to 44.8 percent, the highest level since 2007, according to the report.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinanced more than 90,000 mortgage loans through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) in September, bringing the program's total reach to 1.7 million since its inception in 2009, according to the latest refinance report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The rate of HARP refinances has increased since the program was revised in the fall of 2011 to expand borrower eligibility. Year-to-date, 709,000 loans have been refinanced through HARP, already far exceeding last year's total of about 400,000.

A foreclosure agency says borrowers may be encouraged to strategically default because they expect housing policies won't change over the next four years. In a survey of YouWalkAway.com customers, 47 percent said they believe the Obama administration had no effect on the foreclosure crisis. Due to the perception that housing issues are not a priority for the current administration, YouWalkAway says underwater homeowners who were previously undecided about strategically defaulting are choosing to do so given the election results.

While almost one-quarter of homeowners remain underwater, rising home prices over the past year have some economists hopeful negative equity could begin to diminish in coming months. Negative equity is still crippling many homeowners and the wider economy, Capital Economics stated in a report. But, if home prices continue to rise, the global research firm sees the potential for 3.5 million homeowners to move out of negative equity positions over the next 12 months.

Five mortgage servicers--Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Ally--have provided over 300,000 borrowers with some form of mortgage relief as part of a settlement agreement, according to a report from settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr. As of September 30, 2012, the banks reported they have provided $26.1 billion in actual consumer relief. Short sales accounted for $13.13 billion of that amount. Part of the settlement agreement requires the banks to provide $20 billion in relief, but the servicers are not always credited on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

While the housing market has seen some recent positive signs, many still wonder when a true recovery will occur. Distressed real estate continues to hold a market-wide recovery at bay, and predicting a timeline for bringing distressed real estate to manageable levels is difficult at best. After tracking 5,021 properties that became distressed between April 2005 and July 2012, ProTek released a report detailing its observations. ProTek found more than 20 percent of properties remained distressed for more than five years, and LTV was found to be ""a key driver"" in the transition into foreclosure.

In the third quarter of this year, negative equity slipped further and now represents less than 30 percent of homeowners with a mortgage, Zillow revealed Thursday. According to a negative equity report, 28.2 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage remain underwater, a decrease from 30.9 percent in the second quarter. The 28.2 percent translates into about 14 million U.S. homeowners who owe more on their mortgage than their home's value.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has issued the first borrower payments resulting from settlements with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers over faulty foreclosure processing. Oklahoma families who were subject to the servicers' ""unfair and deceptive practices ... following the financial crisis,"" can expect to receive their checks soon, Pruitt said. Oklahoma was the only state to craft its own agreement with Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, GMAC/Ally, and Wells Fargo.

Rep. Jim Costa (D-Fresno) introduced a House companion for the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act, which seeks to cut through red tape in homeowner refinancing to make the option more broadly available.

Sometimes, to bring attention to what one considers to be an unjust law or policy, an act of rebellion occurs. In Ohio, three current but underwater borrowers have decided to go on a mortgage strike as an act of civil disobedience against FHFA's stance on principal reduction and the lack of help to address underwater mortgages. Rather than paying their mortgage servicer, the three Ohio homeowners will pay their principal and interest to an attorney who will hold their payments in an escrow account.