Category: Foreclosure

Hardest Hit States Foreclosures Slow

By Ryan Jackson Three of hardest hit states in the U.S. housing downturn have seen foreclosures drop by more than 25% providing a major sign of improvement for the nation’s housing market. Formal foreclosures in Nevada, Arizona and Michigan have been reduced at the highest level since the housing crisis started more than five years… Continue reading Hardest Hit States Foreclosures Slow

Home Prices Rise 2 Consecutive Months

By Ryan Jackson U.S. home prices showed two consecutive months of increases in March and April for the first time since the summer of 2010 when the market benefitted from the federal tax credit for home buyers, according to CoreLogic. The firm’s Home Price Index rose 1.1 % year over year in April for the… Continue reading Home Prices Rise 2 Consecutive Months

Watch Dog to Audit Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae

By Mike Colpitts The chief U.S. government watch dog, the Office of Inspector General, will conduct a full audit of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae’s procedures to sell-off foreclosures. The announcement was included in a government white paper released without fanfare last week. The nation’s mortgage giants have been bailed out by tax payers in… Continue reading Watch Dog to Audit Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae

Short Sales Overtaking Foreclosures

By Mike Colpitts Bank assisted short sales or homes that sell at less than what is owed on a mortgage are overtaking foreclosed homes lenders put on the market. The development doesn’t come as a surprise to those involved in the real estate industry. Rather, they expected the transition as part of the U.S. housing… Continue reading Short Sales Overtaking Foreclosures

Mortgage Delinquencies Jump

By Mike Colpitts Homeowners in trouble on their mortgages jumped as more homes joined the long line of defaults in May showing another sign the U.S. economy is weakening, according to real estate analytics company Lender Processing Services. The slim 1.1% monthly jump in defaults is a troubling sign for the  U.S.  housing market, still… Continue reading Mortgage Delinquencies Jump

Half of Homeowners Spend $75,000 on Housing Expenses Annually

By Mike Colpitts Nearly half of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage spent $75,000 or more on housing expenses in 2010, according to data provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. The staggering amount represents 49.2% of homeowners with a mortgage in 2010, the most current government figures available. The just uncovered statistic shows just home many… Continue reading Half of Homeowners Spend $75,000 on Housing Expenses Annually

Foreclosures Jump Resumes After Robo-Signing Slowdown

By Mike Colpitts Foreclosure starts rose for the first time in more than two years in May, signaling a resumption of formal bank repossessions of homes with mortgages in default after months of slower foreclosures. Initial filings were lodged against 205,990 U.S. residential properties, according to RealtyTrac. The increase accounted for a 9% hike in… Continue reading Foreclosures Jump Resumes After Robo-Signing Slowdown

Shadow Inventory Declines, But Still Looms

By Mike Colpitts The shadow inventory or the number of homes that lurk uncounted by banks and other mortgage lenders in the abyss of the troubled housing market is shrinking as banks offer more troubled homeowners, including landlords short sales for the first time since the U.S. housing crisis started. Estimates of the shadow inventory,… Continue reading Shadow Inventory Declines, But Still Looms

Research Firm Says Real Estate Stabilizing

By Mike Colpitts Almost six years after the U.S. housing market began its collapse, one of the nation’s largest real estate research firms says the housing market is making strides towards stabilizing and may be close to a bottom of the market. CoreLogic analysts say the U.S. housing market “is transitioning to more stability in… Continue reading Research Firm Says Real Estate Stabilizing