Obama Adminstration's May Housing Scorecard

The May Housing Scorecard has been released, courtesy of HUD, the Department of the Treasury and the Obama Administration. It is a comprehensive report on the status of the nation's housing market. All indicators point to signs of stability. There's been an overall increase in the sale of existing homes across the nation. The inventory of newly constructed homes has also increased. The only slight hindrance right now comes in the form of delinquencies and underwater mortgages. However, the economy is continuing to recover. More than 180,000 borrowers have taken advantage of the Home Affordable Refinance Program to secure mortgage relief. This has helped foreclosure starts to decline.

The Obama Administration has many programs in place to aid homeowners with the woes of the housing market. So far, these programs have established some critical standards and accountability for mortgage servicers. These have forced the industry to provide struggling homeowners with more effective assistance than ever before. Millions of American homeowners have received relief from these foreclosure programs, and the Administration hopes to continue providing it. It is very important that the nation's housing market crisis can recover.

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Shorter-Term Refinancing to Prep for Mortgage-Free Retirement

The newest trend in the home-buying game is refinancing into 15-year loans. More homeowners than ever are going down this route due to mortgage rates consistently falling to record lows. According to Freddie Mac's most recent mortgage rate survey, the 30-year fixed-rate loan averaged at 3.75% which is down from 3.78% last week. On that note, the 15-year fixed loan's average is currently at 2.97%, down from 3.04% a week ago. Unfortunately, most of the homeowners who are able to benefit from the low refinancing rates in this troubled housing market are those who have significant home equity. Many homeowners are considering shorter-term loans so they can have the payoff coincide with their retirement plans. Despite having to pay more per month for these shorter-term loans, having their homes paid in full when retirement comes around would be ideal for any homeowner. Those that are able to do this have statistically been people in their 40s and 50s whose incomes now allow them to pay off more principal every month. If you are interested in refinancing your home to take advantage of these great rates, Quest Loans can set you up with a professional lender today! Call 1-888-883-5252.

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U.S. Job Market Staggers

The U.S. economic recovery has had a bit of a slowdown in May. According to the Labor Department's Job Report for May, only 69,000 jobs were created. This is a much lower number than experts had expected for the month. With that said, the unemployment rate has also climbed up to 8.2%, which is the first time it has increased in the past 11 months. This all comes at a time when Americans are worried about the European crisis, higher gas prices and the constant problems that the housing market faces. It is important, therefore, that the U.S. economy continues to grow, especially since Europe is declining. If the U.S. has frequent slowdowns like the one in May, it could bring about a global slowdown. It had enough of an impact on the economy for the Obama administration to comment that this jobs data was unacceptable and that Congress needs to do something to strengthen the nation. Time will tell if they take action to make a difference in the lives of Americans or not.

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Homes are More Affordable than Ever!

The affordability of the Nation's houses has hit a record high. 77.5% of all homes that were sold in the first quarter this year were considered affordable to the families who purchased them. These families earned the national median income of $65,000 per year. However, lenders are continuing to tighten their procedures and policies, making homebuying a greater obstacle than in the past. The good news is that if you can qualify for the loan, the homes are at the most affordable prices than they have been in the past 20 years. Unfortunately, many are unable to take advantage of these prices because of new strict lending practices. We at Quest Loans want to help everyone find the right loan for them and get into the house of their dreams. We work hard to match potential homebuyers up with the right lender to get the job done! Contact us for more information on how to get started. 1-888-883-5252

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Existing-Home Sales Prices Increased 3.4%

According to the National Association of Realtors, existing-home sales have increased in the month of April, and home prices are continuing to climb. These sales rose 3.4% compared to March throughout the country. This is a good indication that the housing market is finally recovering. It is not just the investors who are buying these homes anymore, we are seeing an increase in homes being sold to actual occupants again. This is helping home sales of all prices, causing the market to become more balanced. Housing inventory rose 9.5% at the end of April, totaling out at 2.54 million existing homes that are for sale. The national median price for an existing home is $177,400, which is up 10.1% from last April. It is expected that 2013 will bring further increase in sale prices.

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Sneak Peak at the April Mortgage Monitor Report

We have a sneak peak of the "April Mortgage Monitor" report from Lender Processing Services, Inc (LPS). The report is scheduled to be released in full at the end of the month, and takes its data from more than 40 million loans. According to our sources, the report states that the total U.S. delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due but not yet in foreclosure) is at 7.12%. That figure is up 0.4% from March but it is down by 10.6% compared to last year. Currently, there are 3,522,000 delinquent mortgages on residential homes, including 1,595,000 that are more than 90 days late.

We reported on the foreclosure pre-sale in the past. Its inventory is now made up of 2,048,000 properties. Combining that with the past-due mortgages gives us a total of 5,570,000 properties that are either delinquent or in foreclosure. The states that have the highest percentages of non-current loans include Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, Illinois and New Jersey.

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BofA's Mortgage Principal Reduction

Bank of America has announced that they will be offering mortgage principal reduction to a certain 200,000 customers. The catch is, however, that if the customers do not reply to these letters that they will receive in the mail, they will not be eligible. The borrowers who qualify could get up to $150,000 deducted from the balance of their mortgages. This is part of the $25 billion settlement between federal and state agencies and the five largest mortgage lenders in the nation. These lenders were caught up in a scandal involving fradulent foreclosure document processing that qualified homebuyers that were not actually qualified. We reported on this a couple months ago.

Bank of America, state attorneys general and the U.S. Department of Justice have committed $11 billion towards this mortgage principal reduction. If enough borrowers respond to the offer, they may go beyond the $11 billion. There has already been $700 million in principal reduction given to a total of 5,000 borrowers through a pilot program.

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