Foreclosure sales spiked in the first month of 2012, up approximately percent respectively. Sales in non-judicial states outpaced judicial by over three to one, exacerbating the backlog of foreclosures soon to reach local real estate markets in states...
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Despite enduring notably higher levels of foreclosures in February, three out of the nation's four regions shrugged off the uptick in foreclosures and achieved higher prices.
Low mortgage rates and monetary policy lowered the UFA Default Risk Index for the first quarter of 2012, which has now reached its lowest level since 2005, before the housing bust.
Moderate to low income homeowners are twice as likely to be underwater on their mortgages, owing more than their homes are worth, making them much more vulnerable to default than those who bring home a bigger paycheck.
The average price of a foreclosure-related sale was only 29 percent below the average price of a non-foreclosure sale during the fourth quarter of 2011, down from a 34 percent foreclosure discount in the third quarter and a 35 percent foreclosure discount in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to RealtyTrac's Q4 and Year End 2011 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report.
Confidence in the 2012 housing market among Realtors is increasing and some 67 percent expect prices to rise in the months to come. However, the overall jobs and economic situation continues to have a major, negative impact on the residential markets.
All three Case-Shiller price indices ended 2011 at new lows since the housing crisis began in mid-2006, wiping out all price gains achieved since 2002.
Only two out of ten of the nation's 8.7 million single family rental properties are managed by professionals; individual owner/ investors take care of most of the rest. Last year only about a third of single family rentals, 35 percent, made a profit on their rental income. Some 2.3 million lost money for their owners.
The national inventory of homes for sale is hitting long time lows, prompting both grins and grimaces among housing economists.
Pro Teck Valuation Services' February HomeValueForecast.com shows the majority of U.S. Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) demonstrating more positive than negative market trends despite weak or soft status for top U.S. CSBAs.
With the start of the home buying season just around the corner, years of low prices and dashed hopes for the long awaited housing recovery may be changing the way sellers price and prep their properties.
After ticking upwards last fall, the mortgage delinquency rate (over 30 days due) resumed its decline in January falling 2.2 percent from December's low. Defaults also fell from 2.24 percent in December to 2.16 percent last month.
Last year's home buying season continued through the balance of 2011 and though January, according to RE/MAX, which reported yesterday that sales have risen seven straight months.
As of February 10, new listings tracked by Altos Research have ticked upwards for five consecutive weeks, suggesting the spring home buyer season will bring the strongest prices the nation has seen since the tax credit briefly stimulated demand two years ago.
Compared to whites, greater shares of both black and Hispanic young adults say owning their own home is among their top priorities. While 25 percent of blacks and 26 percent of Hispanics say owning a home is of the highest importance in their lives, only 12 percent of whites say the same.
Local markets will probably not be swamped by waves of foreclosures following the multi-state mortgage settlement announced yesterday. Rather, the huge inventory of one to two million foreclosures will enter markets gradually.
