Weekly State of Market

CoreLogic has released a national overview report for the first quarter of the current equity status of residential homes. It’s a long report with a lot of graphing, but we can take a look at some summary bullet points of data that are interesting.

• Price gains are improving the equity picture in many areas of the country. 850,000 properties returned to positive equity in the first quarter of 2013.
• Of residential properties with a mortgage, 9.7 million are still in a negative equity situation.
• That 9.7 million properties represents roughly 19.8% of the total market, but is down from 21.7 percent at the end of 2012.
• Negative equity is $580 billion, representing 8.7% of aggregate valuation.

How is your market? Has it changed in the past 12 months? What used to be a strong buyers market as switched, seemingly overnight, to a seller's market. This has left investors and first-time homeowners scrambling.

Check out my latest article that provides more facts and details about the market change: "Seller Take the Reigns as Bank-Owned Home Sales Decline"

http://www.bankforeclosuressale.com/wp/article-05314338.html

Short sales traditionally have been a tough purchase because you’re dealing with a bank and the closing on that property can take anywhere between 4 months to a year.

However there are indications in the market that short sales are slowing down … which is a benefit for investors.

Inman News keeps up on the real estate market conditions and in a recent article they discussed how short sales are decreasing due to the rising of prices in certain markets.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/02/real_estate/mortgage-rate-record/index.h...

money.cnn.com put out a report giving the top 5 best markets to buy a home ... this is great information if you are looking for speculative buyers.

Southern South Carolina
Median listing price: $269,900

Days on market: 156

Reading, Pa.

Median listing price: $173,700

Days on market: 149

Santa Fe, NM

Median listing price: $389,450

Days on market: 147

Asheville, N.C.

Median listing price: $249,000

Days on market: 146

Portland, Me.

Median listing price: $260,000

Days on market: 144

In some markets price are rising, while others are still on the decline ... when you have an unusually longer DOM ... you have a better chance of negotiating deals.

http://money.cnn.com/gallery/real_estate/2013/03/14/buyers-markets/index...

Homeowners who lost their homes in 2009 and 2010 could be seeing some financial compensation coming their way. In cash payments ranging from $300 to $125,000 each, 4.2 million borrowers will receive checks soon. The largest settlement payments will be made to 1,082 military service members who lost their homes illegally to foreclosure. Servicers participating in the agreement are:

• Aurora
• Bank of America
• Chase
• Citibank
• Goldman Sachs
• HSBC
• MetLife
• Morgan Stanley
• PNC Mortgage
• Sovereign Bank
• SunTrust
• U.S. Bank
• Wells Fargo

Borrowers didn’t necessarily have to apply for any settlement payment, but those who did are expected to receive double the payout of those who didn’t with the same issues.

Institutional investors are firing up the housing recovery and many are still very active in multiple markets around the country. They are taking advantage of the continuing flow of bargain properties and the growing demand for rental homes. Some of these large investors are buying huge blocks of homes to sell to other investors looking to get into the rental market.

However, it’s not all just the big players. Despite big players like Blackstone, they only represent a very small segment of the single-family home market. In 2012, 81 percent of the single-family homes purchased were bought by individuals, and 19 percent were bought by investors. Most investors are small, individuals buying one or a few homes in their local market.

http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/05/housing-rentals-investors/?iid...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has launched a new loan modification program for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae loans. It is called the Streamlined Modification Initiative. This program is placed in the hands of the lenders allowing them to be proactive in helping borrowers obtain mortgage relief.

The program begins June 1, 2013 and will remain active until August 2015. It is available for borrowers on Freddie and Fannie loans who are 90 days or more delinquent on their mortgage.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/03/26/news/economy/housing-recovery/index.html...