Bankruptcy

The Latest on Foreclosures & Home Sales in the U.S.

By guest-writer

Because the current recession was caused in large part by questionable practices in the mortgage market, home sales and foreclosure rates have been particularly interesting to monitor as an overall indicator of the economy?s rate of recovery.

Here?s a look at some of the latest findings and reports about the industry.

Home Sales Up Slightly, Thanks to Foreclosure Sales

The Associated Press reported this week that home sales in the U.S. rose from December 2010 to January of this year:

• Rate of increase: Reports show that existing home sales (i.e. sales of not-new, previously occupied homes) rose at a rate of 2.7 percent between December and January.
• Annual rate: The rate of sales in January put the market on pace to sell 5.36 million homes for the year. December?s sales were at a 5.22 million annual rate. A ?healthy? economy, sources note, generally includes about six million home sales per year.
• First time buyers: The latest numbers show that first-time home buyers accounted for 29 percent of all sales, well below the 40 percent that apparently is the hallmark of stronger economic times.
• Hearty areas: Particularly strong types of home sales reportedly included foreclosure sales, at 37 percent of all transactions, and cash-only sales, which accounted for another 32 percent. Sources indicate that these numbers mark a doubling in such types of sales from two years ago.
• Median home price: The glut of foreclosures now on the market continues to drive down home prices, and the median price in January was apparently $158,000, down 3.7 percent from this time last year and the lowest median in nearly a decade (since April 2002).
• Unsold homes: Sources report that 3.38 million unsold homes still clog the nation and hold back the housing market?s recovery. At January?s rate of sales, it would take more than seven months to sell these homes.

New Changes on the Horizon for Mortgage Servicers?

A recent report at Credit.com notes that the federal government may be nearing an announcement of new regulations for the mortgage servicing industry. Here?s why:

• During the subprime housing boom, mortgage servicers were often rewarded for signing customers up for more expensive loans than they could have qualified for.
• This led to abusive practices by many mortgage servicers and caused many customers to pay more than they could have for their loans in interest rates and related services.
• Since the collapse of the housing market, federal investigators have apparently been attempting to determine which practices were most detrimental to borrowers.
• As the research period draws to a close, insiders are reportedly expecting the announcement of new regulations for the mortgage servicing industry in the coming weeks.

Full post as published by The Bankruptcy Blog on March 02, 2011 (boomark / email).