The New York Times reports that defaults on modified loans is rapidly increasing, nearly doubling in March.
Resource: The New York Times
April 20, 2010
April 7, 2010
Credit And Inventory Major Problems
A survey earlier this month of 200 real estate executives confirmed what many of us believe; availability of credit and the number of foreclosed homes is impacting the housing recovery.
- 79 percent of respondents said that the availability of credit was the biggest factor impacting a recovery.
- 44 percent said that the high inventory of foreclosed homes was the 2nd most important factor.
- 62 percent felt that real estate financing would come from private sources with the more typical lenders coming in a distant second.
You can read more at REALTOR.org and Akerman.com
Resource: REALTOR.org & Akerman Senterfitt
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April 6, 2010
Commercial Still Threatening
In prior posts (here, here and here) we discussed the worrisome situation with commercial loans coming due and the potential for foreclosure. The news continues to be grim.
Reuters and REALTOR.org report that rents fell 0.2 percent and vacancy rate rose to 17.2 percent, the highest since 1994.
Resource: Reuters & REALTOR.com
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April 1, 2010
March 24, 2010
Foreclosures On The Rise
The number of foreclosed homes is rising once again. Downward pressure on pricing can be expected.
Two articles in The Wall Street Journal about this topic are “Supply of Foreclosed Homes on the Rise Again” and “How Many Homes Do Banks Have Up Their Sleeves?.”
Don Grafues
Resource: REALTOR.org & The Wall Street Journal
Resource: REALTOR.org & The Wall Street Journal
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March 20, 2010
Arizonans Walking
Here is an article from AZCentral.com about home owners walking away from their underwater mortgages. Arizona home owners who elect to walk are better off from others in that Arizona law does not allow deficiency judgments. Here are a couple of our earlier posts on this topic;
Don Grafues
Resource: AZCentral.com
Resource: AZCentral.com
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March 18, 2010
Addressing Foreclosures
Five states are scrambling to come up with “innovative solutions” to address foreclosures.
Arizona, California, Florida, Michigan and Nevada may share in $1.5 billion of federal funding (Arizona could get $125 million). The states have six weeks to present their innovative program to the government to receive funding. Ideas could include paying down a portion of the mortgage for home owners underwater of granting a one year period of no mortgage payments for an unemployed home owner. We must wait to learn what the Arizona program will be and if it is approved.
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March 15, 2010
More Foreclosures
On the 12th we published a post regarding a slowing trend in the number of foreclosures hitting the market. One of the cautions we mentioned is the subject of an article by Renae Merle in the Washington Post. There is a feeling that there will be another surge of foreclosures hitting the market. And that these properties will depress prices and will not be sold for up to three years. Not good news.
Don Grafues
Resource: REALTOR.org & Washington Post
Resource: REALTOR.org & Washington Post
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March 12, 2010
Foreclosures Slowing?
Foreclosures in February were up 6 percent over February of 2009 but that is the lowest year over year increase since January 2006.
This is good news but there are a couple of cautions. One, some properties that may have been foreclosed were not because the owners are negotiating new mortgage terms. And two, there is still a large number of owners who are underwater.
You can read more in this article from REALTOR.org.
Don Grafues
Resource: REALTOR.org
Resource: REALTOR.org
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February 17, 2010
Continued Pressure On Home Sales
James Hagerty reports in The Wall Street Journal on two studies on the housing market.
His article looks at the impact the foreclosed properties will have on home pricing. There are 7.7 million home owners who are behind on payments. It is estimated that 5 million of these will go into foreclosure over the next few years. These properties represent on average across the US 10 months of sales. Arizona is in worse shape than the national average. The expectation is that foreclosed properties in Phoenix will represent 15 months of sales.
One thing that will help reduce the impact of these foreclosures on market pricing will be stepped up activity by investors.
You can read the entire article here.
Don Grafues
Resource: The Wall Street Journal & REALTOR.org
Resource: The Wall Street Journal & REALTOR.org
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