Home prices rose for the second consecutive quarter but remained nearly 9% lower than a year earlier, according to a housing market report issued Tuesday.
Mortgage borrowers are still falling behind on their payments in record numbers, despite the many foreclosure prevention efforts initiated by the government and non-profits.
Only a tiny percentage of troubled homeowners have received permanent modifications under President Obama's foreclosure prevention plan, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the $75 billion effort.
Foreclosures are dominating the housing market. Right now, there are 1.5 million such homes for sale, and more are expected to be available soon. That provides both opportunities and pitfalls for bargain hunters.
Housing counselors, who've received more than $400 million in federal funds to help mitigate the mortgage crisis, are helping troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure and lower their monthly payments, a study released Wednesday has found.
After three years of slumping house prices, the end of the real estate bust may finally be in sight. Home sales are rising, inventories are shrinking, and most economists believe values nationwide will hit bottom in the second half of the year -- but not before falling another 5% to 10% first.
Could the foreclosure plague be ending?
Some 650,000 troubled borrowers have been put into trial loan modifications under the president's foreclosure rescue plan, the Treasury Department said Tuesday.
Fewer people are underwater on their mortgages -- further evidence that the real estate free-fall may be slowing.
Giving troubled borrowers yet another way to avoid foreclosure, Fannie Mae said on Thursday it would allow eligible homeowners to rent their own homes.
Home prices rose for the second consecutive quarter but remained nearly 9% lower than a year earlier, according to a housing market report issued Tuesday.
Mortgage borrowers are still falling behind on their payments in record numbers, despite the many foreclosure prevention efforts initiated by the government and non-profits.
Only a tiny percentage of troubled homeowners have received permanent modifications under President Obama's foreclosure prevention plan, raising concerns about the effectiveness of the $75 billion effort.
Foreclosures are dominating the housing market. Right now, there are 1.5 million such homes for sale, and more are expected to be available soon. That provides both opportunities and pitfalls for bargain hunters.
Housing counselors, who've received more than $400 million in federal funds to help mitigate the mortgage crisis, are helping troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure and lower their monthly payments, a study released Wednesday has found.
After three years of slumping house prices, the end of the real estate bust may finally be in sight. Home sales are rising, inventories are shrinking, and most economists believe values nationwide will hit bottom in the second half of the year -- but not before falling another 5% to 10% first.
Could the foreclosure plague be ending?
Some 650,000 troubled borrowers have been put into trial loan modifications under the president's foreclosure rescue plan, the Treasury Department said Tuesday.
Fewer people are underwater on their mortgages -- further evidence that the real estate free-fall may be slowing.
Giving troubled borrowers yet another way to avoid foreclosure, Fannie Mae said on Thursday it would allow eligible homeowners to rent their own homes.
While foreclosure rates are easing in some of the hardest-hit cities, the crisis is beginning to expand into new metro areas.
For a foreclosure, the house at 15461 Kentfield St. in Detroit needed surprisingly little work. The new owner, an investor from the Chicago area named Kevin Holmes, slapped on a coat of paint, pulled up the dirty carpets, and replaced the stolen water heater. The car stashed out back, he learned soon enough, belonged to a neighbor, not a thief using the three-bedroom as a makeshift chop shop.
Despite concerted government-led and lender-supported efforts to prevent foreclosures, the number of filings hit a record high in the third quarter, according to a report issued Thursday.
During the housing boom, mortgage lenders were doling out the dough, giving loans to people who could never have qualified before.
Loan servicing companies have put 500,000 troubled borrowers into trial mortgage modifications, the Obama administration said Thursday.
A controversial $3.9 billion federal program aimed at saving neighborhoods blighted by foreclosure is hitting hurdles that could threaten its effectiveness.
Home sales are rising. Builders are buying lots. And prices are no longer in free fall. After so much pain, there are signs of life in the housing market.
The housing market is still struggling, but D.R. Horton stock is surging.
Mr. President, help us get one of your mortgage workouts now.
The foreclosure crisis grinds on amid signs of hope.
Substantially fewer homes were repossessed in August than in July, but just as many Americans were behind on their mortgage payments, according to a report released Thursday.
When President Obama unveiled the Making Home Affordable Program in March, he said it would help "responsible folks who have been making their payments" reduce their monthly mortgage bills and avoid losing their homes to foreclosure.
The good news is that Citigroup helped 108,000 people avoid foreclosure during the second quarter, a nearly 30% increase from the previous period.
The number of Americans who have fallen at least 30 days behind on their home loan payments jumped 44% in the second quarter from a year ago, according to an industry report.
Think the recession has been tough on you? If you're in the housing sector, like Home Depot, this is the downturn's fourth year.
Homes continue to be more affordable than they have been in nearly two decades.
The foreclosure plague continued to devastate last month.
You've heard of speed dating? It's got nothin' on foreclosure buying these days. In many places, anyone who wants to buy a foreclosure better act fast, or they're going to come away with bupkus.
Sun Belt cities dominated the list of metro areas with the biggest foreclosure problems during the first six months of 2009.
The value of U.S. homes grew on a monthly basis in May for the first time in nearly three years, according to 20-city index released Tuesday.
As a growing number of Americans default on their mortgages, the Obama administration is set to meet Tuesday with industry executives to discuss their efforts so far to help people save their homes.
The foreclosure plague is not going away -- it's only getting worse.
Home prices continued to tumble in April, falling 18.1% from a year earlier -- but the change from March narrowed sharply, indicating that housing markets may be starting to turn.
Home prices are at their most affordable in many years, which has opened up homeownership to many who had been locked out during the housing boom. And now, the federal government -- and many states - are launching plans to hook up buyers of repossessed properties with very attractive terms.
Thirty-year-old Lisa Locascio is walking through what she hopes will soon be her new living room.
Home prices are at their most affordable in many years, which has opened up homeownership to many who had been locked out during the housing boom. And now, the federal government -- and many states - are launching plans to hook up buyers of repossessed properties with very attractive terms.
Sales in the decimated housing market may finally be bottoming, but don't expect home prices to stop dropping before mid-2010 at the earliest, analysts and economists say.
Did you happen to see the latest home-price stats from S&P/Case-Shiller, or did you avert your eyes? Here's what struck me: As of March 2009, every metro area in Case-Shiller's 20-city index, without exception, has fallen double digits from its peak. Ten are down more than 30%. Eight have dropped more than 40%. Las Vegas is down 50%. Phoenix? It doesn't get any worse than Phoenix. According to Case-Shiller, between June 2006 and March 2009 the average house in Phoenix lost a staggering 53% of its value. Possibly during the Great Depression, but almost certainly at no time since then, have house prices in a major metropolitan area fallen by more than half. It's almost unbelievable. Brother, tell me you didn't buy a house during the boom in Phoenix!
Lenders filed fewer foreclosure notices in May, but the total number of filings was still the third-highest monthly total on record.
The expanded Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, has begun adding staff and plans to hire 800 more personnel as construction projects continue.
Despite all the hand-wringing and attempts to contain the foreclosure plague, the problem still spread during the first three months of 2009, as the number of foreclosure actions started hit a record high, according to a quarterly report.
Nearly 270,000 troubled homeowners were issued mortgage workouts in April, according to a industry report released Wednesday. That was up from about 250,000 in March.
The home price slide accelerated during the first three months of 2009, according to a report issued Tuesday.
For Victor Guevares, winning a bid at a raucous foreclosure auction two months ago was just the first step toward achieving his dream of home ownership. And after getting through several obstacles along the way, he finally moved his family into the two-story, three-bedroom house in Queens.
A study released yesterday by RealtyTrac.com and Truila.com shows that more Americans than ever are interested in buying foreclosed properties.
When all else fails, the Treasury Department is now willing to cough up cash to get homeowners to move on and to get loan servicers to forgive mortgage debt.
More than 55,000 troubled homeowners have received loan modification offers under President Obama's foreclosure prevention program, officials said Thursday.
Foreclosures in April exceeded even March's blistering pace with a record 342,000 homes receiving notices of default, auction notices or undergoing bank repossessions, according to a regular industry report.
Foreclosures are still hitting record highs according to an industry report out today.
1. Finding one has become easier
More than 20% of American homeowners owe more on their mortgage debt than they can sell their homes for, according to an industry report released Wednesday.
Lenders continued to rewrite troubled mortgages at a fast clip during March, but the weakening economy still sent foreclosure starts soaring to a record high.
The Obama administration said Tuesday it is expanding its foreclosure prevention program to cover second mortgages and to direct more troubled borrowers to the Hope for Homeowners program.
Father John Lasseigne has never owned a home, but he's become one of the key saviors for those who face losing their house. As banks move in to take over homes in foreclosure, this priest is stepping in to stop them.
Ivette Castillo thought buying a home at a time like this was out of the question. But when a friend told her there were great deals to be had in Miami, Castillo decided to test the waters.
The 26 cities with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation are all located in four hard-hit states, with Las Vegas topping the list, according to a report released Wednesday.
Wells Fargo thrilled investors earlier in April when the bank said its first-quarter profit would be double Wall Street's expectations as home-loan demand surged with low interest rates. Shares jumped 32% that day and optimists wondered if the news marked an end to the banking industry's slump.
The economy in southern New Hampshire is not by any means among the worst in the nation. Still, according to city records, there are 29 foreclosed homes on the books in Nashua -- many of which are in deplorable condition.
JPMorgan Chase's better-than-expected results and a drop in the number of initial unemployment claims were among the developments boosting stocks Thursday morning.
Initial construction of U.S. homes fell more than expected in March, sinking to the second lowest level on record, according to a government report released Thursday.
Foreclosure activity skyrocketed in March and the first quarter of 2009 to their highest levels on record as banks lifted moratoria on filings.
Right-wing extremist groups may be using the recession and the election of the nation's first African-American president to recruit members, a Department of Homeland Security report contends.
Suffering from one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, Rhode Island is getting nearly $20 million from Washington to rehabilitate neighborhoods most affected by the mortgage meltdown.
No state has been harder hit by the housing bust than California.
The two-story homes on Fir Circle in an upscale Lake Elsinore, California, neighborhood tell two stunningly different tales.
The problem of mortgage-rescue fraud has ballooned as scammers have reacted to the Obama administration's stepped-up efforts to help borrowers in need. From Web ads to late-night TV spots, companies are soliciting struggling homebuyers and fraudulently promising to help them avoid foreclosure.
All too often, troubled homeowners struggle nearly as much to reach their loan servicers as they do to pay their mortgage.
Addie Polk, who became the national face of the foreclosure crisis last fall when she shot herself during an eviction, was a quiet woman who never asked for help.
Lenders have helped an increasing number of mortgage borrowers to get current on payments and stay in their homes, but the tide of foreclosures is still rising.
When mortgage borrowers fall behind on payments and run the risk of losing their homes, they sometimes grab the first lifeline tossed their direction. Often that lifeline is a TV or Internet advertisement making grand promises - and has more than one string attached.
If HOPE for Homeowners, the foreclosure-prevention plan passed last summer, was a soft drink, it would be New Coke. If it was an automobile, it would be an Edsel. A movie? Howard the Duck.
President Barack Obama continued a two-day campaign-style swing through California Thursday, announcing the distribution of $145 million in new Housing and Urban Development funds at a town hall meeting in Los Angeles.
As loan servicers scramble to implement President Obama's foreclosure prevention plan, the administration on Thursday unveiled a Web site to assist homeowners in determining whether they are eligible for help.
The foreclosure picture suddenly darkened again in February.
Maria Stephens barely flinches when her three rambunctious young sons strike up a baseball game in her living room. "I thought you boys were going to play in the front yard," she laughs while Christian, 2, swings a black plastic bat near the kitchen table.
Victor Guevares rented apartments and saved money for 12 years, hoping eventually to buy a home for his family. Now, the foreclosure market might make the New York man's dream come true.
More than 11% of all mortgages are either delinquent or in foreclosure, according to an industry report released Thursday.
Mortgage modifications have a bad rap, yet President Obama is depending on them to stop the foreclosure crisis.
Later this week, the Obama administration will announce the details of its Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan, an attempt to rescue homeowners from the housing meltdown that precipitated the financial crisis.
Some of the people hit hardest by this bad economy are the youngest. Almost 2 million children nationwide have had or will have their lives disrupted by home foreclosures, according to one study.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday that the embattled housing market has crippled the economy, and at-risk homeowners need a bailout - even if they knew they couldn't afford their home in the first place.
A tide of foreclosed properties has been sweeping into the beleaguered housing market, bringing down property values, dislocating families, and sending municipal governments scrambling to manage the crisis. But some buyers see a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in the gloomy headlines; they are buying up foreclosed properties at ultra-low prices.
With eyes tearing, some stare off into space. Others sit quietly with an expressionless pain as they wait for the inevitable.
The Obama administration's efforts to help struggling homeowners will aid "responsible" borrowers, not deadbeats or speculators, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan said Sunday.
The $75 billion foreclosure prevention program announced Wednesday by President Obama will go a long way to helping millions of distressed borrowers and to stopping the housing market's downward spiral, experts said.
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