RealtyTrac: Fla. still No. 1 in foreclosure rates

                                    

FREE List of Foreclosures in South Florida

 

IRVINE, Calif. – April 10, 2014 – According to RealtyTrac’s foreclosure report for March, Fla. has retained its No. 1 status for homes in some stage of foreclosure, with one in every 407 Florida homes with a mortgage affected.

And in a look at metro areas (populations of 200,000 or more), Florida cities hold eight of the top 10 spots.

March 2014

RealtyTrac’s report finds that 5,815 Florida homeowners received their first foreclosure notice in March; 9,983 were notified of a foreclosure sale; and 6,258 homes transferred to bank ownership (REOs). However, the total number of impacted homeowners in all stages fell 8.79 percent month-to-month when compared to Feb. 2014 and 21.92 percent year-to-year.

First quarter 2014

Looking at January through March, Florida foreclosure activity in first quarter 2014 decreased less than 1 percent quarter-to-quarter, but it declined 19 percent year-to-year. Still, Florida retained its top spot even though its foreclosure activity has decreased annually for three consecutive quarters.

First quarter 2014 metro areas

Port St. Lucie, Fla. – where one out of every 99 housing units had a foreclosure filing in the first quarter – led the nation’s cities, though seven other Florida cities also made the top 10.
 
Miami came in at No. 2 (one in every 106 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville at No. 3 (one in every 112); Orlando at No. 4 (one in every 120); Tampa at No. 5 (one in every 122); Lakeland at No. 6 (one in every 127); Ocala at No. 7 (one in every 130); and Jacksonville at No. 8 (one in every 134).

Nationwide, 29 states posted annual increases in scheduled foreclosure auctions. While Florida’s scheduled auctions rose 21 percent, it ranked tenth for auction sales behind Utah (up 226 percent), Oregon (up 177 percent), Connecticut (up 131 percent), New Jersey (up 79 percent), Delaware (up 49 percent), New York (up 47 percent), Maryland (up 46 percent), Massachusetts (up 37 percent) and Nevada (up 21 percent).

Other findings

• Foreclosed homeowners still live in 51 percent of REOs nationwide out of homes with occupancy data. However, no Florida cities ranked in the top five for owner-occupied REOs.
• It takes 935 days to foreclose on a Florida home as of the first quarter, but it takes longer in two other states: New Jersey (1,103 days to foreclose) and New York (986 days). Hawaii (840 days) and Illinois (830 days) round out the top five.

RealtyTrac posts an interactive Florida map that compares foreclosure rates color-coded by county. Scroll across a county to see its foreclosure statistics. 
© 2014 Florida Realtors®

U.S. home prices rose in Feb. despite weaker sales

                                                         

WASHINGTON (AP) – April 1, 2014 – U.S. home prices rose in February from a year earlier at a solid pace, suggesting that a tight supply of available homes is boosting prices despite slowing sales.

Real estate data provider CoreLogic said Tuesday that prices for existing homes rose 12.2 percent in February from a year ago. That was up slightly from January’s year-over-year pace of 12 percent.

On a month-to-month basis, prices in February rose 0.8 percent from January. But CoreLogic’s month-to-month prices aren’t adjusted for seasonal patterns, such as winter weather, which can depress sales.

Snowstorms, rising prices and higher mortgage rates combined to reduce home sales in February to their lowest level in 19 months.

A tight supply is helping boost prices even as sales slow. Sales fell 0.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.6 million in February from January, the National Association of Realtors said earlier this month. That sales pace would exhaust the number of available homes in 5.2 months, the Realtors’ said – below the six-month supply typically available in healthy markets.

The states with the biggest price gains in the past year were: California, where prices rose 19.8 percent, followed by Nevada, 18.5 percent, and Georgia, 14.2 percent. No states posted a drop in home prices.

Prices in four states reached a record high in February: Colorado, Nebraska, North Dakota and Texas. An additional 22 states are within 10 percent of their previous peaks, CoreLogic says.

Nationwide, average home prices remain 16.9 percent below the peak reached in April 2006, at the height of the housing bubble.

Home sales and construction faltered over the winter, partly because harsh weather discouraged some Americans from venturing out to house-hunt. In addition, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage is about a percentage point more than it was last spring. That means buying costs are up.

Most economists think the housing recovery could pick up once the spring buying season begins, though likely at a slower pace than last year.

But some recent reports haven’t been encouraging. A measure of signed contracts fell for the eighth straight month in February. That suggests sales will remain slow in coming months. Signed contracts usually lead to a finished sale in one to two months.

And home construction fell for a third straight month in February. But there was one hopeful sign: Developers applied for the most building permits in four months.
 Copyright © 2014 The Associated Press, Christopher S. Rugaber, AP economics writer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 

More banks lower FICO score requirements

NEW YORK – March 31, 2014 – More banks are lowering minimum FICO score requirements in an attempt to shore up lending for underserved borrowers.

Carrington Mortgage Services is the latest company to announce that it lowered its minimum FICO score to 550. It also expanded guidelines on several FHA VA, and USDA loan programs to aid those with FICO scores below 640.

Wells Fargo, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, said in February that it was lowering its minimum FICO score requirements on FHA-backed mortgages from 640 to 600. The move, bank officials said, was aimed at “opening up our credit box more.”

One in three consumers has a FICO score below 650, according to Carrington, which says it’s refocusing its business on the underserved segment and eliminating conventional and jumbo loans. In addition to accepting more lower-score borrowers, it’s also limiting its acceptance of wholesale submissions with FICO scores above 680 starting April 1, except for VA loans, HousingWire reports.

“Effectively meeting the needs of clients in the underserved market requires the ability to both originate quality loans and appropriately service them after the fact,” says Ray Brousseau, executive vice president of Carrington’s mortgage lending division. “Both Carrington’s lending platform and specialty servicing business were created to serve this particular market segment. That uniquely positions us as the lender of choice for this population of borrowers and the mortgage brokers and real estate agents who work with them.”

Source: “Carrington Ups Ante on Wells Fargo by Lowering FICO Standard,” HousingWire (March 24, 2014)

© Copyright 2014 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD (301) 215-4688

Study suggests 1 in 10 renters wants to buy in 2014

                                 

                                       

Study suggests 1 in 10 renters wants to buy in 2014

SEATTLE – March 13, 2014 – If a Zillow survey crunched its numbers correctly, the real estate market will see a big upswing in buyer demand over the next year.

According to the inaugural edition of the Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI), more than 5 percent of all residents in 19 of the 20 large U.S. metro areas want to buy a home in the next year. When the survey focused on just current renters, the number rises to one in 10 (10 percent) hoping to buy a home in the next 12 months.

However, existing headwinds, including tight inventory, rising mortgage interest rates and growing affordability problems in a handful of areas, may make it difficult for many potential buyers to follow through. Still, the majority of respondents were “confident” or “somewhat confident” they could afford homeownership now.

If all renters hoping to buy jumped into the market, it would represent close to 4.2 million first-time home sales – more than double the roughly 2.1 million first-time homebuyers in 2013.

A lack of home inventory may halt some buyers’ aspirations, however. While inventory is up 11.1 percent nationally compared to a year ago, it’s still well below optimal levels. Recent Census Bureau data indicates that the share of new homes built as rental units has grown, while the share of new construction dedicated to single-family homes is down. Mortgage interest rates also continue to rise.

“Even after a wrenching housing recession, this data shows that the dream of homeownership remains very much alive and well, even in those areas that were hardest hit,” says Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “But these aspirations must also contend with the current reality, and in many areas, conditions remain difficult for buyers. The market is moving toward more balance between buyers and sellers, but it is a slow and uneven process.”

Pulsenomics created the Zillow Housing Confidence Index. Measured on a 0 to 100 scale, readings above 50 indicating positive sentiment. The overall ZHCI for the U.S. stood at 63.7 at the start of the year. Of the 20 metro areas surveyed, 11 had individual confidence levels higher than the U.S. as a whole. The overall U.S. ZHAI among all households, which measures consumers’ plans to buy and their attitudes toward the social value of homeownership, stood at 62.4.

“While it is reassuring to see all of the headline ZHCIs in positive territory, the underlying indicators … reveal significant variability,” says Pulsenomics Founder Terry Loebs. “Several of these drivers of overall housing confidence registered negative or only marginally positive readings in some cities. These data confirm that real estate recovery and economic healing are relative, local phenomena …”

© 2014 Florida Realtors®

Brickell, FL Community Demographic and Lifestyle Information

                   



                                        Brickell, FL Community Demographic and Lifestyle Information