Michigan Ranks 5th in the U.S. in Foreclosures

Nevada leads the nation in percentage of foreclosed homes, but California records a massive 92,326 foreclosures!

In a recently released report, Michigan ranked 5th in foreclosures, based on the percentage of homes in foreclosure to non-foreclosed homes. In quantity alone, Michigan ranked 4th. Here is the breakdown:

#1 is Nevada with a ratio of 1 out of every 62 homes in foreclosure (17,902 total foreclosures

#2 is Florida with 1 out of every 140 homes in foreclosure (a whopping 62,401 total foreclosures)

#3 is California with 1 out of 144 homes in foreclosure (a massive 92,326 total foreclosures.

#4 is Arizona with 1 out of 150 homes in foreclosure (17,807 total foreclosures)

#5 is Michigan with 1 out of 234 homes in foreclosure (19,359 total foreclosures)

Believe it or not, many of these states have shown improvement in August over July, as some of the government & lender initiatives have helped cut this down.

What is your feeling or experience on the foreclosure crisis? Let us know.

12% of eligible borrowers helped by Obama plan

Almost 125,000 more people in program this month over July.

Mortgage lenders have placed 12% of troubled borrowers, or 360,165 people, into the government sponsored mortgage help program that started in February. This number is up from 235,247 last month, as lenders continue to accelerate their efforts to save homes from foreclosure.

Although the program did start off slow, it has gained ground in the past few months as mortgage companies are facing a wave of new foreclosures. Banks lose far less money by reducing or restructuring an existing loan than by placing a customer into foreclosure, so there is a definite advantage for banks to participate.

Some banks, however, are participating at varying degrees. Here is a breakdown of the top participating major lenders:

Saxon Mortgage Group: 39%
Nationstar Mortgage: 30%
GMAC Mortgage: 26%
JPMorgan Chase: 25%
Citi Mortgage: 23%
Wells Fargo: 11%
Bank of America: 7%

If you have any stories about receiving mortgage relief, please share them by posting a comment on this blog or email: info@erareardonrealty.com

Thanks!

Michigan Ranks 9th in the U.S. in Number of "1st Time Homebuyer Tax Credits" claimed so far

As of August 31st, Michigan ranked #9 in the U.S. in the number of tax credits claimed so far with 9,237. This number is made up of people who have closed on a qualifying home purchase this year and filed an amended 2008 tax return. Here are a list of the top 10 states:

California - 42,304
Texas - 29,536
Florida - 29,132
Georgia - 11,109
Pennsylvania - 10,250
Illinois - 9,918
Arizona - 9,357
North Carolina - 9,355
Michigan - 9,237
Ohio - 9,172

Pending home sales hit 6th straight increase

Index jumps by 3.2% in July, beating estimates and marking its longest streak on monthly increases on record.

Pending sales of existing of homes jumped up 3.2% in July, fueled by a combination of low interest rates, moderate home prices, foreclosure sales & the $8,000 tax credit. Good news for everyone!

Locally in Jackson County, sales of existing homes were reported to have risen 18% in the first half of the year over the same period in 2008.

Although the economic climate remains tough, there are signs of life! Foe every home sold, especially a foreclosure, that is a happy new homeowner filling a vacant home!

Pending Home Sales Rise for the Fifth Consecutive Month

According to the National Association of Realtors, pending home sales rose in June by 3.6% over May. The increase marks the fifth straight month that pending sales have increased. The last time sales posted five consecutive monthly gains was July 2003!

The combination of reduced home prices, low interest rates & the $8,000 Tax Credit have spurred people to buy up plenty of good values. In the Midwest specifically, sales are up 11.6% over a year ago, driven mainly by excellent values.

While many of these sales may be on distressed properties & foreclosures, that is actually a good thing! Owner occupied homes raise property values & the buying of foreclosures thins out the glut of housing inventory that has kept prices down all year.

Turn-around? We hope so!

New Bills Introduced to extend/change "Homebuyer Tax Credit"

Several new bills have been introduced in both Congress & the House of Representatives that would both extend the current $8,000 tax credit AND make it available to all buyers, not just "first-time" home buyers. This is big news & I will try to keep you posted on the progress of these bills. This just confirms that it will continue to be a great time to buy Real Estate for the next few years!

Matt

The verdict: "Hope for Homeowners" plan starting to get traction..

As we discussed last month, President Obama's "Hope for Homeowners" plan started out as a huge disappointment, mainly because of banks unwillingness to participate. After some tweaks, the new stats are starting to trickle in. More than 55,000 troubled homeowners have received loan modification offers under President Obama's foreclosure prevention program trough mid-May.

The administration also announced it was expanding the $75 billion program to assist more troubled borrowers. The government will provide incentives for servicers and borrowers to avoid foreclosure using methods such as short sales.

Servicers have also mailed more than 300,000 letters to homeowners who might be able to get modifications, the administration said. Mortgage holders who live in their homes and have loans of no more than $729,750 originated before Jan. 1 are eligible. Also, they must be in default or at risk of default for a reason such as a significant change in income or expenses.

Let's "Hope" that this program continues to save the homes of Americans, even your friends & neighbors!

Matt

Existing Home Sales for April Up 2.9%

It was reported today that sales of previously occupied homes rose modestly from March to April as buyers took advantage of prices that were 15.4 percent below year-ago levels.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that home sales rose 2.9 percent to an annual rate of 4.68 million last month, from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million in March.

The results slightly beat economists' forecasts. Sales had been expected to rise to an annual pace of 4.66 million units, according to Thomson Reuters.

This is encouraging news! The buying market continues to get better as investors & residential buyers drive the market forward. This trend will need to continue in order to use up some of the excess inventory that is keeping prices down. There is currently a 10-month inventory nationwide of existing homes for sale, which means prices will continue to slide until that inventory is reduced.

What do you think? Is the market headed for a rebound, or is this just an anomily?

Matt

New survey says 75% of people think it is a good time to buy a home!

According to a new Pew Research Center survey completed this Spring, 75% of people surveyed indicated it was either a "good" or "very good" time to  buy a home! Here is the breakdown of responses:

Very Good - 18%

Good - 57%

Bad - 17%

Very Bad - 4%

As with any survey there is some margin of error, but this is sure a change in sentiment from say....last year! Overall, the public is upbeat about buying a home in the current economic climate.  This is good news and most likely the first part of the economic recovery for our country.

What do you think? A good time to buy or not?

Matt

New Hope for "Hope for Homeowners" Program?

The "Hope for Homeowners" plan that took effect on October 1st of last year has been a HUGE disappointment to say the least. It was, in effect, a voluntary program for lenders to "write-down" mortgages (forgive part of the debt) and help keep people in their homes. The mortgage industry and the banks that are effected apparently were feeling bitter and not wanting to "volunteer" anything to delinquent borrowers. In fact, only 1 family was proven to have been helped by this bill....big surprise!

On May 20th, president Obama signed an improvement to this bill. It lowers the amount that banks need to "write-down", and it also offers lenders $1,000 for each loan it amends. While this is not startling, it is progress, and we need all the progress available to help the millions of families effected by the foreclosure crisis. Will it be enough to get banks off the sidelines and into the game of saving family homes? Will banks have the foresight to just take a small loss upfront instead of the huge cost of foreclosure? We will see.

My view is....more needs to be done. I will keep you posted as the results come in.

Matt

Fed anounces expanded help to stem foreclosures

The Obama administration on Thursday outlined an expansion of its housing rescue plan that will help homeowners who face foreclosure because they are ineligible for current assistance programs.
Federal officials also provided a report card of sorts on how the home loan modification and refinancing efforts are going since the housing rescue plan was announced in February.

The expanded program includes:

• Foreclosure alternatives. Homeowners unable to qualify for a modification will see a more streamlined process for pursuing short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosures, which transfer a home back to the lender. The goal is to help homeowners avoid a foreclosure that could lead to a severe hit on their credit score.

A short sale is when a home is sold for less than the amount of its remaining mortgage, but lenders agree to consider the debt paid. Lenders would be eligible to receive a federal financial incentive of up to $1,000 if they permit a home to be sold via short sale.

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• Protections for homeowners whose home value has fallen. Under a $10 billion program, new incentives will be provided to lenders to help them make modifications in areas undergoing steep drops in home prices. These incentives will help cover lenders' financial loss.

"If a modification is not possible, we are also announcing steps to encourage the quick private sale or voluntary transfer of property, which will save homeowners money and protect their financial future," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said at a press conference.

Since the administration's housing rescue plan was announced, more than 1 million Americans have refinanced.

Mortgage giant Fannie Mae has put more than 233,000 eligible refinance applications through its refinancing program. More than 55,000 loan modifications have been extended to qualifying borrowers.

Fourteen servicers have now signed contracts and begun modifications. These participants account for more than 75% of all loans in the country.

The Obama administration has said it expects up to 9 million homeowners to get help through mortgage refinancing and loan modifications.

But the very complexity of the program has made for a slow start and done little to dampen foreclosures, which have risen as banks ended temporary foreclosure moratoriums. The number of households facing foreclosure rose 32% in April compared with the same month a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac.

"It's been slow. The foreclosure problem is not going away," says Mark Zandi, with Moody's Economy.com. "But I'm hopeful that there will be more modifications taking off this summer and fall. If not, home prices will slide away."

The concern is that mounting foreclosures will depress prices further, causing more homeowners with conventional mortgages to owe more than the homes are worth. That raises the likelihood of more conventional loan holders defaulting.

The rescue program has taken off slowly in part because of its complexity — homeowners seeking a modification, for example, must verify income and write a letter explaining their financial need in seeking a mortgage change.