Housing data through October point toward market fragility and a still-mixed picture of recovery, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s November 2011 Housing Scorecard.
New home sales remained stable compared to the previous month at 25,600, an increase from last year’s 23,500. Mortgage defaults and foreclosure sales were also down, thanks to homeowners being able to get mortgage relief, the scorecard says.
There were 67,600 foreclosure completions in the period, up from the previous period’s 65,000 but down 27% from last year. REO sales in the period declined 26% to 42,900, and the number of underwater borrowers dropped slightly to 10.7 million.
The home price indices of both the Federal Housing Finance Agency and CoreLogic saw slight increases to 184.4 and 152.3, respectively, although Case Shiller’s index decreased to 142 from 142.9.
Between April 2009 and October 2011, more than 5.4 million modification arrangements were started, which breaks down into more than 1.7 million HAMP trial modification starts, more than 1.1 million FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions, and more than 2.5 million proprietary modifications under HOPE Now.
As of October, more than 880,000 permanent mortgage modifications have occurred through HAMP, with a homeowner’s median payment reduced by 37%.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
