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Tag Archives: Housing Affordability

FBR: Some 6M Borrowers May Qualify for HARP

While FHFA reported a month-to-month drop in HARP refinances, volume under the program remains high, with numbers in the first half of the year (more than 519,000 as of the end of July) already outshining all of 2011's HARP volume. Given the government's estimate that up to 4 million loans could be eligible under the program and FBR's expectation that approximately 6 million borrowers may qualify, the firm expects that originators will continue to see strong volume in the near future.

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Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Expand Refi Opportunities

Lawmakers introduced a new bill on Monday with plans to once more revamp the Home Affordable Refinance Program for current borrowers with eligible loans with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Sens. Barbara Boxer and Robert Menendez, among others, drafted the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act to increase lender competition, open up refinance opportunities to all current borrowers with government-backed mortgages, and strike through appraisal costs and upfront fees on home loans. If the bill passes the House, lenders will begin to compete more often with other lenders.

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Slowing Confidence to Crimp Economy: Fannie Mae

American consumers remain cautiously optimistic of housing as home prices rise, Fannie Mae reported Monday. According to the GSE's August 2012 National Housing Survey, consumers maintain a cautious but improving view of homeownership and the housing market. The average home price change expectation is 1.6 percent, mostly consistent with July's results and down from a June high of 2.0 percent. Meanwhile, 11 percent of those surveyed say home prices will go down in the next year.

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While Candidates Avoid Housing, Five Star Speakers Engage It

Taking the stage on Thursday, speakers at the ninth annual Five Star Conference, currently underway at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, tackled the issue most politicians evade: When and where should government intervene in the housing market? Not often, according to speakers like Jack Konyk, executive director of government affairs with Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider, and Edward Kramer, EVP of regulatory affairs with Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. The Dodd-Frank Act took center-stage during the debate, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau along with it.

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Homes Spending Less Time on Market: NAR

Homes are spending less time on the market as supply conditions tighten, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors released Wednesday. The median time homes stayed listed was down 29.6 percent to 69 days in July compared to 98 days in July 2011. While the overall median is down, the report stated one in five homes bought in July stayed on the market for at least six months. At the current sales pace, it would take 6.4 months to clear the supply of homes available as of the end of July, a 31.2 percent decrease from a year ago when there was a 9.3-month supply.

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Home Prices Rise to Six-Year High in July: CoreLogic

Home prices in July saw the biggest nationwide year-over-year increase since August 2006, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. According to the company's July Home Price Index (HPI), home prices-including distressed sales-increased year-over-year by 3.8 percent in July. On a month-over-month basis, prices increased 1.3 percent from June. July marked the fifth consecutive increase in home prices on both a monthly and yearly basis. Only 23 metro areas fell year-over-year.

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Mortgage Rates Hold Steady Near Record Lows

Mortgage rates held steady above record lows this week, as the debt crisis in Europe threatened to upend an increasingly more favorable economic climate. Zillow reported that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovered old lows at 3.36 percent, only after dipping from 3.39 percent last week. Interest rates for 15-year home loans currently average 2.73 percent, while those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages stay near 2.35 percent. The debt crisis in Europe continues to feed uncertainty for investors interested in stability.

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Single-Family Home Sales Rise, Steady, in July: Group

Sales of single-family homes in the Bay State continued their steady rise in July, The Warren Group reported Tuesday. A total of 4,979 single-family homes sold statewide in July, up from almost 27 percent year-over-year. This July was the best for sales volume since 2005, when sales reached 6,672. Year-to-date, 26,596 homes have sold in Massachusetts, a 24.8 percent increase from the same period in 2011. July also saw condominium sales increase in the state, rising 34 percent year-over-year.

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Is a Housing Recovery Under Way in the Sunshine State?

After seeing some of the worst of the housing crash, Florida is continuing its steady bounce back, Florida Realtors reported Wednesday. According to the group, the Sunshine State saw increases in pending sales, closed sales, and median prices in July, while inventory of homes and condos for sale dropped. Closed sales of existing single-family homes in the state totaled 17,420 in July, a 9.8 percent year-over-year increase. The statewide median sales price for single-family homes was $148,000, up 7.8 percent year-over-year.

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Ohio Homeowners Convene to Solve the Housing Crisis

Homeowners and officials in held a town meeting Thursday in Akron, Ohio, to discuss the impact of the housing crisis on their communities. The event, called ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£#MyHomeMyVote,├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø was designed to put the housing crisis and voters├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó concerns at the forefront of the wave of issues surrounding this year├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós election season. Attendees used the hash tag to tweet their representatives and other officials with their concerns. Held at the Akron-Summit Public Library and co-hosted by Empowering and Strengthening Ohio├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós People (ESOP), among other organizations, #MyHomeMyVote featured speakers such as Senator Sherrod Brown and Rep. Betty Sutton.

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