Tag Archives: Housing Affordability

More than a year after releasing a white paper that set forth three options for housing finance reform, Treasury and HUD struggle to determine the best path forward for America's housing finance system. Speaking before an audience at a meeting of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, Counselor to the Treasury Secretary for Housing Finance Michael Stegman explained that rather than answering the broader question of what the future of housing should look like, each proposal seems to ignite a slew of additional critical questions.

The number of loans refinanced through HARP in the first quarter of 2012 was nearly double the number of refinances in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's March 2012 Refinance Report released Friday. The report showed that 180,185 loans were refinanced through HARP during the year├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós first quarter, nearly twice the 93,190 refinances in the previous quarter. The month of March alone saw 79,470 loans refinanced with HARP, implicating nearly one in seven loan refinances in the quarter.

In Connecticut, single-family home sales are up 25 percent in April while median home prices are down 5 percent, according to a report released Thursday by The Warren Group. This increase marks the fourth consecutive month sales have been rising year-over-year. In April, 1,946 single-family homes were sold, up from 1,550 the same month in 2011. This level is the highest reported in home sales so far, beating the 1,610 sales recorded in March. Similarly, condominium sales also increased while the median cost decreased.

As the debt crisis in Europe continues to worsen and investors look to Treasury bonds for security, fixed mortgage rates fell to all-time record lows in the last week of May. According to the results of Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed averaged 3.75 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending May 31. This is down from 3.88 percent the previous week and 4.55 percent at the same time last year. The 15-year fixed rate mortgage also fell, bringing three of the four benchmark mortgage rates under 3 percent.

Despite record-low mortgage rates, mortgage applications fell 1.3 percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group found that mortgage loan application volume declined by a seasonally adjusted 1.3 percent. It fell 1.6 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis.The Refinance Index climbed down by 1.5 percent from the week before, with declines on the way for the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index by 0.6 percent. The same index went down by a seasonally unadjusted 1.8 percent.

In a study the first of its kinds, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported Wednesday in urban areas across three regions of the country owning a home near a national wildlife refuge increases home value and helps support the surrounding community's tax base. The survey, conducted by economic researches at the University of North Carolina, found three regions that showed a home value increase: 7 percent to 9 percent in the Southeast, 4 percent to 5 percent in the Northeast, and 3 percent to 6 percent in California and Nevada. Tourism to the refuges also plays a role in in the increase.

Investors helped keep interest rates for mortgage loans in record-low territory this week, as European Union leaders grappled with lurking debt crises in Spain and Italy. Real estate Web site Zillow recorded the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 3.6 percent, just above an all-time low of 3.59 percent set two weeks before. Rates for 15-year loans averaged 2.91 percent, while those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages hovered at 2.54 percent. Rates for 30-year fixed-rate loans largely fell in most states, climbing only in Illinois, New York, and Washington.

The Case Shiller Home Price Indexes fell for the seventh straight month in March. The drop in the broader 20-city index was barely noticeable ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô down to 134.10 from 134.14 in February ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô while the 10-city index fell to 146.61 from 146.74. Year-over-year, the 10-city index was down 2.8 percent and the 20-city index off 2.6 percent, improving from February. Economists had expected the 20-city index to show a 2.7 percent year-over-year decline. Separately, the national Case Shiller Index, reported quarterly, was down 2.0 percent in the first quarter.

The Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act of 2012, introduced this month by Sens. Robert Menendez and Barbara Boxer, received backing from witnesses at a Senate Banking Committee hearing. The bill aims to address what the senators say are barriers impeding the success of the recently revised Home Affordable Refinance Program, commonly referred to as HARP 2.0. The bill aims to eliminate all upfront fees and appraisal costs for refinances, prohibit second-lien holders from unreasonably hindering refinances, and more.

A surge in refinance applications could propel mortgage originations by more than $200 billion in 2012, increasing to $1.28 trillion, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The trade group attributed estimates ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô upwardly revised from $1.26 trillion in 2011 ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô to account for a refinance boom sparked by the crises in debt-saddled Europe. The MBA said that it expected refinance originations would amount to $870 billion this year, an amount nearly identical to forecasts from last year, when HARP led the way in estimates.