According to a report from Foreclosure-Response.org, the serious delinquency rate, which includes loans 90 or more days past due plus foreclosures, increased for the first time after a downward trend between December 2009 and June 2011.
Serious delinquencies rose from 9.2 percent in June 2011 to 9.7 percent in December 2011 for the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas. While the 90-plus delinquencies component of the percentage is flat at 3.8 percent and has remained largely unchanged for the past four quarters, foreclosure rates continue to rise and now stand at 5.9 percent. In June 2011, the foreclosure rate was 5.5 percent.
Analysis with the data suggested the build-up of foreclosed homes in judicial states is the main reason behind the rising foreclosure rate.
Metros located in judicial states had foreclosure rates averaging 7.2 percent in December 2011 compared with 4.7 percent for metros in non-judicial states.
Also, when separating metro trends in judicial states from non-judicial, the foreclosure rate in judicial areas has actually increased since March 2009, when Foreclosure-Response.org began tracking the data, while the rate has been roughly flat in non-judicial metros for the last five quarters.
Nearly half, or 46, of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas are located in judicial states.
http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=iEo9QuAEyhY-KJ1Sje-0vA
Los Angeles Times
The pace of new home sales in March was up 7.5 percent from a year earlier, the Census Bureau and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development reported this week.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-new-home-sales-20120424,0,1201517.story?track=rss
Despite slow job growth, Americans’ attitudes about homeownership, the economy, and personal finances continue to move incrementally in a positive direction, according to results from Fannie Mae’s April 2012 National Housing Survey. The continued stabilization of consumer attitudes coupled with growth in areas such as home price expectations, whether it is a good time to sell one’s home, direction of the economy, and the percentage of Americans who saw an increase in their personal income indicate an alignment of factors that may influence Americans’ decision making about purchasing a home.
On average, Americans expect home prices to increase 1.3 percent over the next 12 months (the highest value yet recorded), while the percentage of Americans who say it is a good time to sell their home continued to rise to 15 percent in April (up from low, flat levels during 2011). In turn, confidence in the economy’s direction rose to a survey all-time high in April (hitting 37 percent, an increase of 2 percentage points from last month). Another positive trend is the increased share of those who reported their income as “significantly higher” from twelve months ago, which is now at the highest level recorded over the past year and 7 percentage points higher than those who reported income as “significantly lower” (the largest difference between the two since the survey began).
http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=OL-Rp9YSsbVK9v08mJ8Qlw
Bloomberg
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index was at 69.2 in April compared with a revised 69.5 in the prior month.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-24/consumer-confidence-in-u-s-little-changed-as-expectations-cool.html
Home values nationwide increased 0.5 percent from February to March, according to Zillow’s first quarter Real Estate Market Reports. This marks the largest monthly increase in the Zillow Home Value Index since May 2006, when home values also rose 0.5 percent.
The Index fell 3.1 percent year-over-year to $146,200.
Nineteen of the 30 metro areas covered by the Zillow Home Value Forecast will reach a bottom in 2012, or have already reached a bottom. Several of those are expected to see significant home value increases in the next 12 months, including the Phoenix (6.5 percent), Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (5.6 percent), and Tampa (2.5 percent) metros, according to the forecast.
Twelve of the markets covered by the Zillow Home Value Forecast will experience home value declines in the next 12 months, although some of those are likely to reach a bottom in late 2012. Some metros, however, are anticipated to experience significant home value declines in the next 12 months, including the Atlanta metro, with home values falling 4.1 percent, and the Chicago metro, where values are expected to decline 3.8 percent.
Nationally, the Zillow Home Value Forecast shows that home values will fall 0.4 percent over the next 12 months, with many months showing no change or slight appreciation late this year, suggesting that U.S. home values could reach a bottom in late 2012.
http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=y8SkLFcwWB2OomB7zV_hpw
