Pleasanton Real Estate

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the February edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard. The latest housing figures show increased existing home sales as home affordability remains high, but officials caution that the market remains fragile, as prices are unsettled.

“In the face of the deepest economic recession and housing crisis in decades, the Obama Administration has taken unprecedented action to promote stability in the market – keeping millions of families in their homes and helping millions more to save money by refinancing. But the data clearly show that the market remains extremely fragile,” said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. “While we cannot stop every foreclosure, we know that many responsible homeowners are still fighting to make ends meet. Through the broad range of programs this Administration has put in place, we can put help in reach to those homeowners as early as possible.”

“Our housing market remains fragile. We know this from data, but homeowners across the country can feel it too. That’s why this Administration remains committed to helping eligible homeowners avoid foreclosure where it makes economic sense to do so,” said acting Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Tim Massad. “Every month, HAMP continues to help tens of thousands of additional families in a cost-effective manner. And by setting affordability standards and developing a framework for how mortgage servicers provide assistance to struggling families, HAMP has established critical protections for homeowners and has catalyzed improvements in modifications industry-wide.”

Available online at www.hud.gov/scorecard, the February Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market including:

Housing market remains fragile as data through January paint a mixed picture of recovery. Existing home sales ticked upward in January, but remained below levels seen in the first half of 2010. Mortgage delinquencies continued a downward trend compared to early 2010 and foreclosure starts and completions remain below peak. However, as lenders review internal procedures related to foreclosure processing, many foreclosure actions have been delayed. The decline is likely to be temporary as lenders eventually revise and resubmit foreclosure paperwork in the coming months.

Administration efforts have been effective in blunting the effects of the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Since April of 2009, record low mortgage rates have helped more than 9.5 million homeowners to refinance, resulting in $18.1 billion in total borrower savings. However, home prices remain unsettled at this fragile stage of the recovery. More than 4.2 million modification arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of January 2011 – including nearly 1.5 million HAMP trial modification starts, more than 730,000 FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions, and more than 2 million proprietary modifications under HOPE Now. While some homeowners may have received help from more than one program, the number of agreements offered was more than double the number of foreclosure completions for the same period (1.8 million). View the January HAMP Servicer Performance Report.
Given the current fragility and recognizing that recovery will take place over time, the Administration remains committed to its efforts to prevent avoidable foreclosures and stabilize the housing market.

Each month, the Housing Scorecard incorporates key housing market indicators and highlights the impact of the Administration’s unprecedented housing recovery efforts, including assistance to homeowners through the FHA and HAMP. The Obama Administration’s complete Housing Scorecard is available at: www.hud.gov/scorecard.

By Dina ElBoghdady
President Obama’s proposed budget includes $41.74 billion for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, about $1.1 billion less than what was enacted by Congress for fiscal 2010.

Programs designed to help the homeless and those in need of rental assistance got the biggest boost in this budget. The administration proposed roughly $2.3 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, up from the $1.9 billion enacted in fiscal 2010. Another $9.4 billion was requested for project-based rental assistance, up from $8.6 billion in fiscal 2010.

“In this constrained fiscal environment, increases were made only for the neediest Americans,” the proposal states.

Funding was slashed by $300 million for the community development block grant program, which was funded at $3.98 billion in 2010. The grants are designed to help rehabilitate housing and invest in the economic development of primarily low-income neighborhoods. The budget also proposes about $172 million less for new housing construction for seniors and people with disabilities. The administration is requesting $953 million for that program.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said the cuts would not have been made if economic conditions were stronger.

The Federal Housing Administration, which is part of HUD, insures its lenders against losses when mortgages default. To beef up the cash cushion that FHA uses to pay for unexpected losses, the administration proposes raising the annual premiums that FHA borrowers pay from 0.9 percent to 1.15 percent starting April 18. The premium is used to compensate lenders for loans gone bad. The annual premiums and other fees that FHA collects from borrowers are expected to generate $5 billion in fiscal 2012, up from $2.6 billion in 2010 but less than the $9.8 billion projected for 2011.

In a call with reporters, Donovan said the increase in annual premiums should generate $2 billion of additional revenue next year. The higher premiums will also help reduce the volume of FHA-insured loans, which should drop to $218 billion from this year’s projected $300 billion. That reduction is in line with the administration’s push to scale back the government’s involvement in housing finance.

OVERVIEW ~ November 15 through 19 ~ Though the markets were roiled by worries about the European debt problems (notably those in Ireland), the possibility that China would impose price controls on daily necessities to fight the effects of inflation (increasing fears that economic growth in China would decline), and the argument over the possible damage the Fed’s program of buying up Treasury securities could inflict on the economy, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), at Friday’s close, had moved only 0.1% (up) from its opening level on the prior Monday. The 10-year Treasury note’s yield edged down from Monday’s 2.911% to 2.871% at Friday’s close. Meanwhile, the average Freddie Mac 30-year loan rate climbed from the prior week’s record low of 4.17% to 4.39%, which is inspiring many borrowers to refinance, anticipating that rates may climb.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Fannie Mae’s latest national housing survey finds that most Americans believe the housing market has reached bottom, but they are more cautious about owning a home. Respondents to the Fannie Mae National Housing Survey believe that home prices will hold steady (47 percent) or increase (31 percent) over the next year, and that rental prices will stay the same (46 percent) or go up (39 percent). Across the general population, the average expected rise in rental prices is four times that of home prices (3.6 percent versus 0.9 percent).

Seventy percent of Americans think it is a good time to buy a house, compared with 64 percent in a similar survey conducted in January 2010. But 33 percent — up from 30 percent — of all respondents said they would be more likely to rent their next home if they were to move.

“Our survey shows that consumers see a mixed outlook for housing and homeownership,” said Doug Duncan, Vice President and Chief Economist, Fannie Mae. “These findings indicate a return to a more balanced and realistic approach toward housing. While this will likely weigh on the housing recovery in the near-term, it should, over time, help to build a stronger and healthier market focused on sustainable homeownership.”

“Although most Americans believe that home prices have bottomed, they are adopting a much more cautious approach toward buying,” Duncan continued. “Homeowners and renters alike continue to be wary of taking on risk, and they are less confident in the long-term outlook for housing.”

A majority of Americans (67 percent) continue to believe that housing is a safe investment; however, that number is down 16 percentage points from a similar survey conducted in 2003 — the largest drop by far among all investment types tracked since then. Delinquent borrowers and renters are notably more discouraged than mortgage borrowers and underwater borrowers about a home’s safety as an investment and the appeal of buying versus renting. More than 70 percent of all respondents believe it will be harder for the next generation to buy a home, up three points from the beginning of the year.

The Fannie Mae National Housing Survey polled homeowners and renters between June 2010 and July 2010. Findings were compared to a similar survey conducted by Fannie Mae from December 2009 to January 2010 and released in April 2010, and a similar survey conducted in 2003.

There is not too much to say other then it looks like Congress will extend the first-time homebuyers’ tax credit.

The vote is expected next week. The credit will give people who buy a home $8,000 and lawmaker say this will be the last extension.

“Tax credits like this only work by creating the sense of urgency to take advantage of them and to bring the market back. So the American people and the homebuyers of the United States and the potential home sellers have an opportunity in the next seven months to take advantage of a once in a lifetime credit.”

The House and Senate both have to approve the extension before President Obama can sign it into law. Make sure you dont miss the boat!