What would an influx of 3.8 million entry-level homes do for housing affordability? Limited inventory and strong demand continue to push home prices higher in America’s hottest housing markets, leading to declining affordability.  Forecasters are raising their predictions as tight inventories of homes, particularly lower priced properties, keep first-time buyers on the sidelines. Those 3.8 million homes, nearly twice … Read More »

Foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – were reported on 1,361,795 properties in 2013, down 26 percent from 2012 and down 53 percent from the peak of 2.9 million properties with foreclosure filings in 2010. The 1.4 million total properties with foreclosure filings in 2013 was the lowest annual total since 2007, when there were 1.3 million properties with foreclosure filings. Read More »

Some 9.3 million U.S. residential properties were deeply underwater – worth at least 25 percent less than the combined loans secured by the property – representing 19 percent of all properties with a mortgage in December. That was down from 10.7 million residential properties deeply underwater in September 2013, representing 23 percent of all properties with a mortgage, and down from 10.9 million properties deeply underwater in January 2013, representing 26 percent of all properties with a mortgage. Read More »

While 10.7 million residential homeowners nationwide owe at least 25 percent or more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, another 8.3 million homeowners are either slightly underwater or slightly above water, putting them on track to have enough equity to sell sometime in the next 15 months — without resorting to a short sale. Read More »

Markets in northern Maryland, southeast Pennsylvania and downstate Illinois are lagging the furthest behind in the recovery while metro area markets in upstate New York, southwest Florida and the Bay Area of Northern California are leading the housing recovery, according to RealtyTrac’s Housing Market Recovery Index. Read More »

After months of decline, foreclosure activity increased in July, led by Florida and six other judicial states where legal procedures delay foreclosure processing. Read More »

Not since Santa Claus visited the George W. Bush White House has the total of properties with foreclosure filings–default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions – reached a level as low as they did last month. Read More »

Though in past they have been a drag on local home values, foreclosures and short sales actually are now rising in price so much faster than normal homes that they are driving up price increases and pulling normal homes with them. Read More »

Some 20 percent of owners of properties making their way through the torturous foreclosure process are abandoning their homes rather than hoping for a miracle or waiting until the bitter end eventually comes. Read More »

Investors desperate for foreclosures to buy got a break in May as banks cracked down on overdue defaulters, increasing starts and repossessing homes occupied by defaulters. Read More »