Tag Archives: Home Equity

The CFPB released a report Thursday showing that although reverse mortgages are meant to help borrowers in retirement, they are in fact causing problems for many who don├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ót fully understand them. A reverse mortgage is a type of home loan that lets older homeowners access the equity they have built up on their homes and defer loan payment until they sell the home, move out, or pass away. The original purpose of reverse mortgages was to allow these homeowners to convert home equity into retirement income.

An analysis of government data by the National Association of Home Builders revealed another issue that can be added to the list of economic changes caused by the housing slump: Rising student loan debt. Data shows that the onset of the housing crisis brought with it an increase in students taking out loans for higher education. Since the third quarter of 2008, student loan debt has increased by 47.9 percent ($293 million). This increase is attributed to the drop in the availability of home equity loans, according to the NAHB.

Analysts said Tuesday that a reduction in homicide rates by 10 percent would likely lead to a 0.83 percent increase in housing values and a 2.1 percent increase in housing prices in residential and metropolitan areas around the nation. The Center for American Progress surveyed 8 major metropolitan areas to tally up the costs of violent crime ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô including homicide, rape, and aggravated robbery ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô for residents, cities, and state and municipal governments. According to the study, the results weigh heavily on residential property values and home prices.

Continuing a four-month trend ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô one that has also prevailed in nine of the past 10 consecutive months ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose year-over-year in April, according to The Warren Group, a New England real estate analytics firm. However, single-family home prices reversed a seven-month downward drift, rising 1.1 percent. The median sales price for single-family homes in Massachusetts now stands at $275,000. On the other hand, the year-to-date median price is $264,900, which is 1 percent lower than the year-to-date price in April of last year, according to The Warren Group.

More homeowners continue to reap benefits from the newly modified Home Affordable Refinance Program, with 79 percent of homeowners with government-backed mortgages either keeping the same level of mortgage debt as before or reducing it over the first quarter. Of those homeowners, Freddie Mac found recently, 79 percent held onto the same level of debt for first-lien home mortgages, while 21 percent of homeowners shaved off dollars from their principal balance. The share of borrowers keeping their original loan amounts hovered at the highest level in the 26-year history of the survey.

The Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes fell for the sixth straight month in February, with the 10- and 20-city indices each dropping 0.8 percent from January, according to Standard & Poor's. The 10-city index slid to its lowest level since May 2003 and the 20-city index dropped to its lowest level since October 2002. Prices fell in 16 of the 20 cities surveyed, improving month-over-month in only Miami, Phoenix, and San Diego. Prices were down year-over-year in 15 of the 20 cities, improving only in cities like Denver, Detroit, and Minneapolis.

Senior home equity went up by $30 billion in the fourth quarter last year, leaving senior homeowners to account for $3.22 trillion in equity, according to a recent report. The National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association collaborated with Risk Span to release the Reverse Mortgage Market Index. The results? The reverse mortgage market is stabilizing, according to the index, which registered 153.48 in the fourth quarter, up 0.9 percent from the third quarter.