Lower Foreclosure Numbers

Encouraging Foreclosure Numbers?


March saw a couple of records fall. One we’ve already mentioned: the number of homes purchased at auction by third-party buyers. There were 5,003 residential foreclosures in Maricopa County: 3,692 reverted to the beneficiary, and 1,311, or about 26.2%, were sold to third-party cash buyers. The smart money at auction, believing they are looking at a fleeing opportunity, continue to be aggressive with a strong rental market yelling in their ear, “Buy, buy, buy!” Why do auction buyers think time is of the essence? Let me give you a couple of reasons. In March we saw the biggest drop in active notices ever, a nearly 10% drop. Active foreclosure inventory fell from 37,533 to 33,955, a drop of 3,658 properties. Why are the numbers of active pending notices declining? We now have monthly trustee’s deeds nearly on par with new filings. In March we saw 5,692 new notices and 5,226 trustee’s deeds, leaving cancellations to hammer away at the existing inventory. In March, Maricopa County saw 3,582 residential cancellations. Looking a little farther downstream at the REO inventory, even with 3,692 properties returning to the banks, REO inventory declined slightly, from 20,076 in February to 19,861 in March. If we define the distressed property inventory as the number of active notices plus the number of REOs, our numbers are 33,955 plus 19,861, or 53,816, down from February’s 57,609.

closing costs help

Fannie Offers Closing Cost Help for REOs - To spark more interest in its massive holdings of foreclosed properties, Fannie Mae is offering to cover up to 3.5% of closings for homeowners who can close by June 30. Fannie sells most its REO properties through HomePath, which also provides financing for second homes and investment properties. Buyers receiving closing cost assistance must certify that they will be owner occupants. Read article:
http://www.nationalmortgagenews.com/dailybriefing/2010_323/fannie-offers-deals-1024282-1.html

Valley rebounding... thanks to winter visitors

Valley rebounding as winter-visitor mecca - This season's influx of snowbirds delivered the best numbers in years for the Valley's winter-visitor industry. The snowbird season started to rebound last year, and the trend has continued as more winter visitors arrived earlier and stayed longer. "We've seen a lot of activity," builder Jeff Blandford said. "We've had a big influx of Canadians in the last two years, but this year, they came earlier and are going home later. Some of them come back to enjoy Phoenix or to buy a house. It's a very nice thing that's happened to our industry." Read article:
http://www.azcentral.com/community/mesa/articles/2011/04/12/20110412phoenix-winter-visitor-capital.html

Avoid refinancing after divorce

Avoiding Refinancing Costs After Divorce - Divorced homeowners wrangling with the task of removing a former spouse’s name from the mortgage after buying out his or her equity stake in the marital house may think that refinancing is the only choice. There is another, little-known option that can avoid refinancing and its costs, which generally run 3 to 6 percent of the outstanding loan principal. Not all lenders or mortgage servicers offer this option, known as release of liability. Read article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/10/realestate/10mortgages-refinancing-divorce.html?_r=1&ref=realestate

this weeks brew

30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Up Slightly for Second Week - 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.86% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 31, 2011, up from last week when it averaged 4.81%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.08%. 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.09% with an average 0.7 point, up from last week when it averaged 4.04%. Frank Nothaft, vice president and chief economist at Freddie Mac, reports, "Low rates have benefited from relatively benign inflation reports. Inflation as measured by the 12-month growth in the core price index for consumer spending, a metric preferred by the Federal Reserve, is hovering near the lowest pace since 1960 when this data series began." Read article:
http://realtytimes.com/rtpages/20110401_rates.htm