Monthly Archives: September 2011

REO Shadow Inventory Continues to Shrink Down to 1.6 Million Units

The industry’s shadows are shrinking, according to CoreLogic. The residential shadow inventory of unlisted REOs and soon-to-be REOs stood at 1.6 million units as of July 2011, based on the analytics firm’s calculations. CoreLogic says that tally represents a supply of five months and is down from 1.7 million units in April and 1.9 million units…
Read more

Fed Uncovers Sharp Drop in Lending in Foreclosure-Ridden Areas

Mortgage lending has declined sharply in neighborhoods with high levels of foreclosures, according to the Federal Reserve. The U.S. central bank looked at what the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) identified as “highly distressed” census tracts. NSP provides funding to help communities deal with neighborhood blight caused by vacant foreclosed homes. Based on information gathered under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HDMA),…
Read more

Existing-Home Sales Jump Nearly 19% From Last Year – Distressed Sales Account for 31%

Sales of previously owned homes came in 18.6% higher last month when compared to August 2010, according to data released Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Completed transactions rose 7.7% on a month-over-month basis to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.03 million, up from 4.67 million in July. The latest numbers far surpassed market expectations.…
Read more

Nearly 6.4 Million Mortgages Deliquent – 30 or More Days Past Due

New data from Lender Processing Services (LPS) shows the population of mortgages going unpaid in the U.S. contracted during the month of August. LPS offered the media a sneak peak at several key mortgage performance statistics slated for public release later this month. The company’s analysts derive their findings from LPS’ loan-level database of nearly 40 million mortgage…
Read more

West Coast States See a Surge in New Foreclosures – Washington, California, Nevada and Arizona

Foreclosure starts soared during the month of August in states along the country’s western coast, reversing what had been a declining trend over the past several months, according to the tracking firm ForeclosureRadar. The California-based company keeps close tabs on foreclosure activity in the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. ForeclosureRadar recorded a spike…
Read more

Surge in Defaults Breaks Six-Month Run of Declining Foreclosure Stats

The lingering effects of the foreclosure moratoriums enacted after evidence of improper foreclosure processing came to light appear to be fading. Data released byRealtyTrac Thursday shows the first rise in foreclosure filings since January, with all of the increase coming from new default notices. The tracking company says filings – including default notices, scheduled auctions, and…
Read more

Addressing Distressed Real Estate Part of Obama’s Project Rebuild Plan

In addition to refinancing assistance for mortgage holders, President Barack Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act includes a handful of elements that relate to the distressed real estate market, all part of what the administration has labeled Project Rebuild. The new $15 billion program is based on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). NSP1, part of the Housing…
Read more

Home Prices Rise Again in July…Prices Still Down 5.2% Year-Over-Year…

Home prices rose 0.8% during the month of July, marking the fourth consecutive month of increase, according to CoreLogic’s July home price index. Capital Economics responded to CoreLogic’s report saying, “We are wary of reading too much into CoreLogic’s fairly optimistic house price report for July, which showed that seasonally adjusted prices fell by just 0.1% m/m, when…
Read more

Home Prices Rebound in Q2 2011 – Prices at 2003 Levels

Home prices increased 3.6% over the second quarter of this year, after having fallen 4.1% in the first quarter, according to the latest S&P/Case Shiller index released Tuesday. With the second quarter’s data, the national index reading recovered from the double-dip cyclical low hit at the end of the first quarter, but still posted an annual decline…
Read more