Homeowner Equity is on the Rise

The latest data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows progress among the key indicators. In 2013, home sales had their strongest performance since the bubble burst in 2008 with foreclosure rates at their lowest and homeowner equity was up $3.4 trillion since the first quarter of 2012. While this does indeed show positive trends in the market, experts note with caution that the economy is still healing.

Obama Administration Efforts Have a Positive Effect

The Housing Scorecard shows that the effort of the Obama Administration continues to have a positive effect on the market according to Kurt Usowski, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs at HUD. “In 2013,” he said, “the number of properties in the U.S. that started the foreclosure process was down 33 percent from 2012, while salesof previously owned homes was up 9.1 percent.” He went on to say that with foreclosures down, home sales up, and home equity continuing to grow, he U.S. housing market will continue to make steady and strong progress, albeit slowly.

January’s Housing Scorecard shows that there is a continued need for the Making Home Affordable program while it’s still making progress. The Making Home Affordable report for January shows that there is a steady increase in the number of homeowners receiving permanent mortgage modifications. At the same time, homeowners numbering more than 258,000 have found other alternatives to foreclosures including short sales or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

Home Sales Up, Foreclosures Down

Housing Scorecard for December features key data on housing market health and the impact of foreclosure prevention programs put into place by the Administration including:

·         Existing Home Sales Continue to Make Gains: In 2013 for instance, there were more than 5 millions sales of existing homes, which was 9.1 percent higher than the numbers in 2012. This was the strongest performance since 2006 when total sales reached an unsustainable level during the housing boom. Additionally, there was a total of 428,000 sales of new homes in 2013 – 16.4 percent above the total sales for the year 2012.

·         Home Foreclosures are Down: there were a total of 747,728 foreclosures started in the U.S. in 2013 according to Realty Trac. While this does indeed sound like a large number, and it is, it is still down 33 percent from 2012, and the lowest number of foreclosures started since 2005. The report went on to say that there was a total of 462,970 U.S. properties repossessed by lenders in 2013. This was down 31 percent from 2012 and the lowest level since 2007.

·         Equity Continues Growth: The equity that homeowners have in their homes is up $3.4 trillion according to the Federal Reserve. This translates into 55 percent growth from the first quarter of 2012 through the end of the third quarter of 2013.

·         Mitigation Programs Continue Providing Relief: More than 1.9 million actions have been taken in regard to homeowner assistance via the Making Home Affordable Program. This includes 1.3 million permanent modifications. The program, put into place by the Federal Housing Administration, continues to encourage improved processes and standard within the industry.

 

SOURCE: http://nationalmortgageprofessional.com/news46810/US-Homeowner-Equity-Up-%243.4-Trillion-Since-Beginning-2012

Existing Home Sales Reached a 7-Year High in 2013

Mortgage professionals may be interested to know that existing home sales reached a seven year high in 2013. Also, the total sales for existing homes were the highest they had been since eight years ago in 2006.

December of 2013 also found that completed transactions that included single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, increased 1.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.87 million, according to an article in the National Mortgage Professional online magazine and the National Association of Realtors.

All in all, 2013 saw existing home sales of over five million, a figure that is over 9 percent higher than 2012. This surge in sales was the strongest performance since 2006 when sales reached a high of over six million at the end of the housing boom. Another interesting fact: First-time buyers accounted for 27 percent of purchases in December, down from 30 percent in December of 2012.

These existing home sales should hold, according to Steve Brown, NAR President and co-owner of Irongate, Inc., Realtors in Dayton, Ohio. The sales should hold this year in 2014 with jobs improving, even though the prices of homes are going up along with mortgage rates. The median existing single-family home price was $197,900 in December of 2013, up over 9 percent from last year.