Foreclosure Activity Decreases to Lowest since 2006

CF Funding is happy to share that foreclosure activity has been reported at its lowest levels since before the housing crash. In the first half of 2014 (January through June) there were 613,874 foreclosure filings, which is a 23 percent decrease from the first half of last year. As CF Funding mentioned earlier this month on their blog, the Obama administration is taking steps to continue to decrease foreclosures, and the lender expects that more improvement is to come in the next few years as the economy improves.

The Midyear 2014 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, released this week by RealtyTrac, revealed that one in 214 homes in the U.S. reported a foreclosure in the first six months of this year (about 0.47 percent). Foreclosure activity for June totaled 107,194 properties, which is down 2 percent from May 2014 and down 16 percent from a year ago. Ten states reached their lowest levels of foreclosure activity since the housing crash in 2006, including Texas, Georgia, Colorado, Tennessee, Arizona, and Nevada. CF Funding is licensed in Texas, Florida, and Colorado, and the lender was happy to see such high foreclosure improvement in those states.

Only nine states saw an increase in foreclosure activity in the first half of 2014 in comparison to the first half of 2013. Those states include New Jersey (up 54 percent), Maryland (up 18 percent), and Iowa (up 10 percent).

It may be disheartening to see that Illinois is ranked at the country’s third highest foreclosure rate in the first half of 2014, at one in every 123 housing units. However, Illinois has a longer foreclosure filing process than many other states in the country. This means that although foreclosures are recovering in Illinois, the statistics reporting a decrease in filings may lag behind other states by a few months. CF Funding is happy to share that Illinois foreclosure activity did decrease 16 percent in comparison to the second half of 2013, and 32 percent from a year ago. The Chicago metro area also saw a 30 percent decrease in foreclosure activity in the first half of 2014 compared to a year ago.

Those who are in danger of foreclosure should contact CF Funding today to take advantage of free credit repair services with a refinance. The lender has assisted thousands of homeowners to regain positive equity in their homes. Call 888-344-4080 or visit www.cffunding.com today. 

Americans are Buying Second Homes As Market Recovers

According to Fannie Mae’s report released Monday, titled “Second Homes: Recovery Post Financial Crisis,” the second home mortgage market is recovering after the housing market crash, and is expected to continue to grow. CF Funding is happy to share this sign of economic recovery. The Housing Insights report shared that second home mortgage origination has averaged about 4.6 percent of the total purchase market since 1998, and it has grown in the past few years. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have acquired about 64 percent of these second home purchase mortgages.

The National Association of Realtors’ survey of second home buyers, which was released last week, is used in the report to share general characteristics of second home buyers vs. those of primary residence buyers (those who have only one home). The typical second home buyer was profiled as about 47 years old, as opposed to a primary home buyer’s average age of 38. A second home buyer usually comes from a two-earner household and has a median household income of $90,660, whereas the primary homebuyer has a median household income of $74,580. The average second home buyer finances the purchase of their home about 61 percent of the time and usually puts down a larger down payment on their home than a primary homebuyer.

The increase in second home buying correlates with CF Funding’s April 2 article titled “Vacation Sales Rise Strongly in NAR Survey,” as the lender observed that more high-net-worth households gained enough confidence in the housing market to buy a recreational property last year. Fannie Mae also mentioned that “34 percent of all second home mortgages have been originated on properties located in Florida, California, and Arizona,” which makes sense as these states are located in warmer climates where many purchase vacation homes. Read the full CF Funding article here.

Fannie Mae also shared a history of the second home mortgage market, as the second home share of PMM has more than tripled from the late 90’s through about 2006, then declined through 2009. This is relatively consistent with the cycle of the real estate market. Since 2009, the second home mortgages share of all purchases has increased, as “private lenders are increasingly more willing to lend to second home borrowers.” During the housing peak (around March 2006), the share of second home mortgages peaked at more than 15 times its share compared to 1998 volumes, while other purchase mortgages were at less than 4 times their 1998 mortgages.

Although the population aged 45-64, who are most likely to buy a second home, is expected to grow more slowly than the rest of the adult population through 2060, it is still predicted that second homes will occupy a large part of real estate and mortgage business in the years to come. CF Funding looks forward to assisting second home buyers in financing their new home purchase. 

For more updates on daily mortgage news, follow CF Funding on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CF_Funding or visit our daily news feed at www.cffunding.com/index.php/news/ .

Foreclosures Down 35 Percent from Last Year

CF Funding is happy to share that foreclosures and shadow inventory continue to decrease, according to the February 2014 National Foreclosure Report by Corelogic. Foreclosure inventory is down 35 percent nationally from last year, and less than 1.9 million mortgages are in “serious delinquency.” CF Funding has shared previously that “foreclosures have decreased 31 percent nationally from December 2012 to December 2013” and “the U.S. has now seen over two years of declines in foreclosure inventory.” The lender hopes to see this trend continue into the rest of 2014.

The number of completed foreclosures in February 2014 was 43,000, which is down 15 percent in comparison to February 2013. February’s foreclosures are also down 13.1 percent in comparison to January 2014. As a point of comparison, Corelogic points out that “before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006.” CF Funding hopes to see a continued decline to surpass previous foreclosure levels as the housing market improves. Fortunately, February marks the 14^th consecutive month of a 20 percent or more year-over-year decrease in the inventory of foreclosed homes.

The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory in the February 2014 report were New Jersey (6.2 percent), Florida (6.0 percent), New York (4.7 percent), Maine (3.4 percent), and Connecticut (3.2 percent). The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory were Wyoming (0.3 percent), Alaska (0.4 percent), North Dakota (0.5 percent), Nebraska (0.5 percent), and Colorado (0.6 percent). The state of Illinois currently has a foreclosure inventory of 2.7 percent (-1.8 percent from a year ago) and had 24,210 completed foreclosures in the past 12 months as of February. The serious delinquency rate for Illinois is 6.3 percent. 34 states have shown year-over-year foreclosure inventory decreases of more than 30 percent (with Arizona showing more than 50 percent declines).

CF Funding is very optimistic about the future of the housing industry, as Corelogic reported that “the 12-month sum of completed foreclosures is at [the] lowest point since December 2007 and has declined every month for the past 26 consecutive months.” Shadow inventory, defined as “properties that are more than 90 days delinquent, in foreclosure and held as real estate owned (REO) by mortgage servicers,” has decreased 22 percent from January 2013 to January 2014. Almost half of the current shadow inventory (about 1.7 million) are homes that are not yet foreclosed. As seen in the chart above, the shadow inventory has continued to decrease since about January 2011.

For more mortgage news and CF Funding updates, follow the lender on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cffundingcorp or on twitter at www.twitter.com/CF_Funding .