Home Prices Continue to Rise Over Last Year's Levels

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

More housing reports released on Tuesday showed home prices on the rise. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. home prices increased 3.7 percent from a year ago in the 12-month period ending in July. 

FHFA’s home price index is now at about the same level it was in June 2004. However, it’s 16.4 percent below the peak reached in April 2007. To calculate its housing index, the FHFA uses purchase price data on mortgages owned or guaranteed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. 

Also on Tuesday, S&P/Case-Shiller released a report also showing home prices on the rise for the fourth consecutive month and at their highest level in nearly two years. S&P/Case-Shiller report measures home prices in 10-city and 20-city composite indices. In its 20-city index, S&P/Case-Shiller reported home prices up 1.2 percent compared to a year earlier. 

"The news on home prices in this report confirm recent good news about housing,” David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, told The Wall Street Journal. “Single family housing starts are well ahead of last year's pace, existing home sales are up, the inventory of homes for sale is down and foreclosure activity is slowing. All in all, we are more optimistic about housing." 

Last week, NAR reported that the median price on existing-homes rose 9.5 percent over year ago levels. The median home price in August is $187,400. 

The increase to the sales price in August was the strongest since January 2006 when median home prices had risen 10.2 percent higher than what they were a year ago. 

The National Association of REALTORS® will release its pending home sales report on Thursday.

Source: “FHFA Home Price Index Now Equals 2004 Levels,” HousingWire (Sept. 25, 2012) and “Case-Shiller Shows Home Prices Rise Sharply Again,” The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 25, 2012)

Voting Obstacles for Foreclosed Home Owners

DAILY REAL ESTATE NEWS | WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2012

A new report from the Fair Elections Legal Network details the challenges that foreclosed borrowers face when determining where to vote in the upcoming election. 

Foreclosed home owners often must update their addresses and the documentation needed to prove their voting residence, which can be difficult if they have not yet acquired a new residence.  They also must complete these tasks before varying state voter registration deadlines. 

State voting laws pose additional challenges, with only 18 states allowing foreclosure victims to vote based on the address of their foreclosed home until a new residence is established.  Some states have implemented rules requiring voters to show a photo ID with a current address, but foreclosure victims without a permanent residence cannot prove residency in the state and are unable to obtain IDs. 

The report, along with state voting guides, is available online.

Source: "Report: Foreclosure Shouldn't Mean Losing Your Right to Vote" RISMedia (09/24/12)

More Home Owners Lifted From Underwater

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, September 13, 2012

As values rise, more home owners are finding equity in their houses again, surfacing after being underwater on their mortgage for the past few years, according to the latest data from CoreLogic.

In the second quarter, 10.8 million, or 22.3 percent, of home owners owed more on their mortgage than their house is currently worth, which is down from 11.4 million — or 23.7 percent — in the first quarter, CoreLogic reported Wednesday.

Often, the fear among the industry with underwater home owners is that they will be much more likely to stop making their mortgage payments and walk away from their properties. However, the majority of underwater home owners — 84.9 percent — are up to date on their mortgage payments despite the decrease in the value of their homes, according to CoreLogic.

“The level of negative equity continues to improve with more than 1.3 million households regaining a positive equity position since the beginning of the year,” says Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Surging home prices this spring and summer, lower levels of inventory, and declining REO-sale shares are all contributing to the nascent housing recovery and declining negative equity.”

The highest number of underwater home owners are in Nevada (59 percent), Florida (43 percent), and Arizona (40 percent).

Source: CoreLogic