Under new Treasury Department rules that take effecton April 5, short sales will be presented as the next possible step for homeowners who are not applicable for the federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

By offering this option, the administration is acknowledging that the current mortgage modification effort "can't solve the foreclosure problem by itself," says RealtyTrac chief economist, Rick Sharga. He sees positive points in the new guidelines, such as easier, standardized paperwork, financial incentives for both homeowners and mortgage servicers, and limited payouts for second lineholders.

Short sales are not widely used. According to the National Association of Realtors, in January 2010, only 14% of home transactions were short sales. The new program is doubtful to make the short sale transaction any easier, and while it may increase the number of these transactions, some are saying it won't "live up to the hype."

Read more from RISMedia.

Posted in Real Estate Market Conditions, Foreclosure, Real Estate Industry, National News

The FHA is tightening its belt when it comes to mortgage loans, on the heels of an investigation into 15 FHA lenders whose FHA mortgage insurance claims were markedly high.

Myriad notices and comments about the impending qualification changes have been announced, but will take effect this spring, including raising mortgage insurance fees that borrowers must pay, capping the amount of cash that sellers can contribute for closing costs and requiring higher down payments for  borrowers with poor credit scores.

With foreclosure rates tapering off in February compared to January, there is hope on the horizon, albeit rates are still higher than that of the previous year. The FHA is insuring as many as 50% of all purchase loans, as compared to 3% before the collapse of the subprime market.

With the tighter restrictions on FHA loans, the options for seeking other financing simply don't exist, making some wonder if this will add fuel to the fire to the weakened housing market.

Read more at Realty Times.

Posted in Mortgage, Real Estate Market Conditions, Foreclosure, Real Estate Industry

According to a report from RealtyTrac, national foreclosure rates dropped 2% in February compared to the previous month. In addition, one in every 418 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing.

"This leveling of the foreclosure trend is not necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are in effect capping monthly foreclosure activity -- albeit at a historically high level," said RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio.

Six states accounted for 60% of all foreclosure filings: California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona and Texas. Nevada, Arizona and Florida are posting the highest numbers of foreclosures.

Read more about the report's finding and statistics on CNNMoney and RISMedia, as well as from the press release issued by RealtyTrac.

Posted in Real Estate Market Conditions, Foreclosure, National News

In this video from REALTOR® Magazine, we gain insight about how the National Association of Realtor's (NAR) new neighborhood stabilization project works.

The program is targeted at helping communities whose foreclosures could cause neighborhoods to become barren. The video shows two of the approximately two dozen neighborhoods at risk in Chicago, courtesy of Mabel Guzman, ABR, president-elect of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®.

Chicago's association has been aggressive in making sure it got its share of the money for the program and offers hope for all communities facing foreclosure issues. NAR also hopes others can find success through the program.

View the original blog post and commentary by Robert Freedman, senior editor of REALTOR® Magazine.

Posted in Real Estate Market Conditions, National Association Of Realtors, Foreclosure, Real Estate Industry, National News

Do you know how much your real estate is worth in this market? How do you know it's worth what you think it is?

There are many free opportunities to get a real handle on how much your real estate is worth, as many brokers and agents will do a free evaluation. Other tactics to figure out worth include:

• Solds. Use information about the solds that surround your property and those similar to yours to find your value.
• Expireds. These are listings that have not sold within the usual 30- to 90-day period, sometimes due to overpricing. They can also give you insight about what works and what doesn't work for marketing your property.
• Currents. How does your property compare to those currently on the market?
• Value Boosters. Renovations, recent repairs and other improvements to a property can boost its value.

Read more at Realty Times.

photo credit: TheTruthAbout...

Posted in Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Market Conditions, Real Estate Industry