Mortgage Debt Relief Act extended through the new year

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According to a survey by YouWalkAway.com, the extension of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 will drive more short sales in 2013.

The act was set to expire at the end of 2012, but Congress voted to extend it another year, thus providing debt forgiveness for underwater homeowners who choose a short sale, loan modification, or foreclosure rather than defaulting on their loan.

While the report doesn't see a new wave of mortgage defaults this year, the extension of the act will provide tax relief for those homeowners who are currently in foreclosure. New foreclosure applicants, however, can only expect to have that tax relief for a year (which is how long the act has been extended) – a time period that may not be enough because of how long some foreclosures can take.

As an alternative to defaulting on your loan, a short sale or loan modification may be the best route.

Home values rose 5.9% in last quarter of 2012

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Zillow’s most recent Home Value Index report indicated home values in the country rose 5.9% in 2012 from the previous year, and the best annual gain since 2006.

In the fourth quarter, home values rose 2.5% from the third quarter, up to a $157,400 average. Of the largest metros surveyed, 69% saw annual home value gains last year. Foreclosure activity also declined, dropping 12% from 16% at the end of 2011.

Even with the positive gains in home values last year, the new year is anticipated to see a more sustainable 3.3% appreciation rate, which Zillow sees as being more tempered.

Based on these numbers, Zillow projects a 3.3% rise in home values for 2013, a rise that will bring us up to the norm.

Highland Park the best improved neighborhood nationwide

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Redfin recently released its study on 48 emerging neighborhoods in 16 metro areas across the United States. The hottest neighborhoods ended up being the “once-gritty urban areas and far-flung suburbs with school districts on the rise.” Eight of the top 10 ended up being in California, and the top neighborhood? Right here in Los Angeles – Highland Park!

Highland Park saw a 49% drop in inventory in one year starting December 2011, along with a 72.7% rise in sales and a 31.2% increase in median prices.

Other top Los Angeles neighborhoods include Faircrest Heights and Eagle Rock.

Highland Park and Eagle Rock are areas that we serve – give us a call today to get into the fastest growing neighborhoods in the nation before everyone else does!

Ready for a new servicer on your loan?

Bank of America may have just unloaded two million loans (totaling $306 billion) to other lenders, but it’s already looking to sell rights on at least $100 billion more MSRs. Last week, BofA started with selling $306 billion in mortgages to Nationstar Mortgage Holdings and Walter Investment Management. The move is not unusual – lenders have been known to do it as costs rise and servicers go bankrupt. Additionally, Basell III capital rules will soon take effect, forcing banks to “hold more capital for mortgages serviced or to put less premium on the value of MSRs.” Servicing companies are exempt from this rule, so they are eager to buy.

Ally Financial and JP Morgan are looking to do the same soon.

Foreclosure inventory will remain low in 2013

Foreclosure Inventory via Wall Street Journal

With gains in housing prices the past year also comes an increase in home equity – very good news for current homeowners. But while those shopping for good deals (especially first-time home buyers and move-up buyers) are getting incredibly low interest rates, foreclosures and other REO inventory is shrinking drastically.

According to CoreLogic, foreclosure inventory is down 20% in November from a year ago. REOs fell from 19.6% to 11.5% between January and November 2012. This drop is due to a lower number of delinquencies and a more laborious foreclosure process that resulted from the original housing crisis issues.

Along with fewer foreclosures and REOs comes major competition to purchase deals by investors, first-time homebuyers, and the move-up buyers, hence the rise in prices. Economists are predicting that 2013 will see further declines in both REO and foreclosure inventory, but won’t be as steep a decline as we saw in 2012.

New HARP program expands benefits to more struggling homeowners

You may now be able to borrow a little more than your home is worth under some new changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). Under the current program (which expires at the end of 2013), Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae borrowers could get help with refinancing if the value of their home had declined and they owed more than the home was worth. Now, banks are more comfortable raising the loan-to-value caps to include more struggling homeowners. HARP 3.0 will cover borrowers not under Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, and loans over $417,000 can now qualify.

It’s unclear when the new HARP program will take effect, but for now homeowners under those lenders still have options for refinancing.

Foreclosures account for less than half of shadow inventory

From October 2011 to October 2012, the national shadow inventory decreased to 2.3 million units – that’s down 12.3%. Current inventory is looking like a seven month supply and in terms of dollars we are looking at $376 billion. Seriously delinquent properties represent 1.04 million of those units, while 903,000 are in foreclosure, and 354,000 are REOs according to CoreLogic. That means that over half of the shadow inventory are delinquent, but not yet in foreclosure.

By the end of October 2012, California ranked second in serious delinquencies and saw a 9.7% decline. At the same time in the state, home sales have jumped 15% and prices 19% year over year.