Loans past due and in foreclosure at 4-year low

Mortgage group: Loans past due and in foreclosure at 4-year low

By E. Scott Reckard May 16, 2012, 8:21 a.m.

In another flicker of hope for the battered housing markets, home loans in foreclosure or at least one payment past due have declined to the lowest level since 2008, according to a Mortgage Bankers Assn. delinquency report.

The quarterly study, released Wednesday morning, said 7.4% of all loans on 1-unit to 4-unit properties were past due at the end of the quarter, taking seasonal factors into consideration. That was down from 7.58% at the end of the fourth quarter and 8.32% a year earlier.

The number of homes actually being repossessed remained high, as lenders worked through huge backlogs of distressed properties. Homes in foreclosure represented 4.39% of all homes, up from 4.38% in the fourth quarter but down from 4.52% a year earlier.

Combining delinquent loans and mortgages in foreclosure proceedings, one of every nine U.S. mortgages was showing at least initial signs of distress. Still, that was down by about a percentage point from a year ago and from the final quarter last year.

"Mortgage delinquencies normally fall during the first quarter of the year, but the declines we saw were even greater than the normal seasonal adjustments would predict," said Michael Fratantoni, vice president of research at the home lender group. "So delinquencies are clearly continuing to improve."

As in other recent reports, there was an enormous split between states in which foreclosures are handled within the court system and states in which homes are usually repossessed and sold outside the courts.

In California, a non-judicial foreclosure state, 3.3% of homes were in foreclosure -- more than a percentage point below the national average. Arizona, another state with foreclosures outside the courts, had 3.6% of its homes in foreclosure proceedings.

The contrast with judicial states such as Florida (14.3% in foreclosure) and New Jersey (8.4% in foreclosure) was stark.

"They're going to have a lingering problem for years," Fratantoni said in an interview.

New foreclosure actions were started on 0.96% of all homes during the first quarter, down from 0.99% last quarter and 1.08% one year ago.

The most problematic loans continue to be those made at the peak of the housing bubble. The Mortgage Bankers Assn.'s category of seriously delinquent loans -- those in foreclosure or more than 90 days in arrears -- remains three times the long-term average, Fratantoni said, and 60% of these badly distressed loans were made from 2005 through 2007.

The Mortgage Bankers Assn., a Washington-based based trade group, represents companies that write property loans, most of which are sold as fodder for mortgage-backed securities.

Its report arrives amid evidence of a nascent housing recovery, particularly in Western states, with the Commerce Department on Wednesday reporting an increase last month in homebuilding.

A recent report from San Diego researcher DataQuick showed the number of homes entering foreclosure in California was down 17.6% year over year, at the lowest level since mid-2007. Santa Ana researcher CoreLogic said greater use of loan modifications, short sales and deeds-in-lieu by lenders had contributed to the foreclosure downturn.

Credibility is something you can only earn over time.  And if you haven't earned it, you can't use it."

Lee Iacocca

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April home sales and price report

Spring home buying season off to strong start,

home sales and price post impressive April results, C.A.R. reports

LOS ANGELES (May 15) – California home sales and median price both jumped in April, with sales shooting up to their highest level in more than two years, and the median price rising above $300,000 for the first time in 16 months, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

“A brighter economic picture, coupled with record-high housing affordability, pushed the spring home buying season off to a strong start,” said C.A.R. President LeFrancis Arnold. “With a continuing improving economy and interest rates declining to new record lows in recent weeks, we should see a steady improvement in the housing market throughout the end of the year.”

Closed escrow sales of existing, single-family detached homes in California rose to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 555,300 units in April, according to information collected by C.A.R. from more than 90 local REALTOR® associations and MLSs statewide. Sales in April were 10 percent higher than March’s pace and 11 percent higher than in April 2011. The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2012 if sales maintained the April pace throughout the year. It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home climbed 5.7 percent in April to $308,050, up from March’s revised $291,330 median price and 4.7 percent from a revised $294,140 recorded in April 2011. The median price rose above the $300,000 mark for the first time since December 2010.

“The median home price climbed for the second straight month with solid gains from both the previous month and year,” said C.A.R. Vice President and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton-Young. “A sales improvement in the higher price segments of the housing market was a contributing factor to the price increase, as non-seasonally adjusted sales of homes priced higher than $500,000 increased nearly 11 percent, while sales of homes below $500,000 edged up a modest 2.1 percent.”

“Additionally, the strong sales increase of higher-priced homes resulted in a considerable decline of inventory of homes in the higher price ranges when compared with last year. This signifies the tight supply conditions we’ve been experiencing in the lower price ranges over the past several months are now extending into the upper price ranges.”

For the full report click here:  http://www.car.org/newsstand/newsreleases/2012releases/aprilsales

Credibility is something you can only earn over time.  And if you haven't earned it, you can't use it."

Lee Iacocca

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Projects to Make Moms Happy - 5/11 Money Pit e-Newsletter

Home Remodeling Repair & Improve Ideas & Solutions Radio & Podcasts Contact Us Community Presented by: The Welcome Mat They wipe runny roses, hunt down missing shoes, and cheer their heads off at Little League games. They're moms, and Sunday is the day we show our appreciation for their love and hard work. What better way to say "thank you" than to do a much-needed project around the house? Keep reading for tips and ideas on how to give the gift of home improvement this Mother's Day. You can do-it-yourself, but you don't have to do it alone. This Issue Celebrate Mother's Day with Home Maintenance Mother's Day is Sunday, so treat the special Mom in your life to the home maintenance of her choice. Ask your mom, or ANY special mom in your life, what is bothering her most about her home and address that problem. read more Build Mom a Greenhouse Getaway If you know a mom who loves gardening and nature, a backyard greenhouse would make a wonderful gift -- a spot for relaxing, meditating, lounging, crafting or reading, where she can retreat from her hectic everyday life. read more Privacy Glass from Therma-Tru Provides Natural Light and Energy Efficiency Now available as an option in virtually every Therma-Tru door collection, four triple-paned privacy glass styles offer natural light and privacy and contribute to a home’s energy efficiency as well as its welcoming beauty. read more Never Forget to Turn Lights Off Again! Remember Mom always telling you to turn the lights off you weren't using? Now that you pay the electric bill, you realize what she was talking about! Now, there is a dimmer switch created by the company that invented the dimmer, that will automatically turn off the lights when you leave the room. read more ON THE AIR: Home Makeover Ideas for Mother's Day Learn things you can do around the house to make your Mom happy for Mother's Day. Find out about a product that senses when a room is empty and turns off the lights. Find out ways to find and save money for home improvements. Plus get answers to your home improvement questions about septic tanks, installing a fence, and more. read more Share This Information With A Friend! Simply forward this Email. And invite friends to register to receive this E-newsletter each week. If you would like to unsubscribe from our weekly newsletter, please refer to the unsubscribe directions at the bottom of this newsletter. You are currently subscribed to moneypit_e-newsletter as: dabeisner@yahoo.com To unsubscribe: click here or write to Squeaky Door Productions, Inc., 57 S. Main Street #133, Neptune, New Jersey 07753

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5 Low-Cost and Easy Projects + Which TV Mom are You?

Duane, looking for easy, low-cost weekend projects?

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	What's Hot How to Get Rid of Ticks AC Costs Going Up Spiff Up Your Garage  How to Mulch

Hello Duane, Release the weekend warrior in you with projects so easy, you can complete them in a few hours at little or no cost - leaving you plenty of time to figure out which TV mom is most like you. Plus, check out these great gift ideas for mom. FACEBOOK FAVES: Tornado Storm Shelters | Who Knew Driveways Could Be This Cool? 5 Easy, Low-Cost Weekend Projects Create a garden room in a weekend, plus: • Get the Look of Stainless for Less • Start a Compost Pile • Install a Fun Kitchen Faucet • Repair and Replace Door Hardware   Forward to a Friend Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

ADVERTISEMENT To ensure that you continue to receive email from HouseLogic.com, please add Newsletters@mail.houselogic.com to your email address book. To change your email address or view your contact preferences, please sign in and go to Your Profile. To unsubscribe from future e-newsletters, tips, and more from HouseLogic, please click here. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® 430 N. Michigan Avenue Chicago, IL 60611 800.874.6500 www.HouseLogic.com © Copyright 2012 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

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Homebuying spree hits all corners of O.C.

Homebuying spree hits all corners of O.C. May 7th, 2012,  Jon Lansner  OC Register Orange County springtime homebuying spree is a widespread trend with all four geographic slices of the county enjoying double-digit sales growth. That’s what we found our studying how housing trends hit various corners of Orange County. For the 22 business days ending April 17 — freshest numbers from DataQuick — our region-by-region analysis of local real estate trends finds Orange County homebuying slicing up by geography this way … North Inland: 668 homes sold in these Orange County ZIP codes in this most recent period, +15.0% from a year ago. Median selling price? $435,000 in these 22 ZIPs. This most recent median price change was -6.4% in a year. North Inland accounted for 28% of recent home sales vs. 27% a year ago. Mid-County: These ZIPs — median selling price $336,750 — had 792 sales, +17.0% from a year ago. In these 25 ZIPs, the median price change was -5.1% in a year. Mid-County accounted for 23% of recent home sales vs. 23% a year ago. Beach Towns: 578 homes sold in these ZIP codes in the most recent period, +20.2% from a year ago. This was largest year-to-year gain among the four regions. Median selling price? $710,000 in these 17 ZIPs. Median price change was +1.7% in a year. Beach Towns accounted for 20% of recent home sales vs. 19% a year ago. South Inland: These ZIPs — median selling price $458,500 — had 831 sales, +10.7% from a year ago. This was smallest year-to-year gain among the four regions. In these 19 ZIPs, median price change was -4.8% in a year. South Inland accounted for 29% of recent home sales vs. 30% a year ago.

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