Analysis: Homes Near Trader Joe’s Have Higher Values

By KIMBERLEY HAAS Analysts say that being located near certain grocery stores can have an impact on a home’s value. Average houses near Trader Joe’s are $987,923, compared to $891,416 near Whole Foods and $321,116 near ALDI, according to an analysis released last week by ATTOM, a curator of real estate data. Rick Sharga, Executive Vice President of Market Intelligence at ATTOM, said homebuyers consider where they will do their grocery shopping when looking at houses. “It turns out that being located near grocery stores isn’t only a matter of convenience for homeowners but can have a significant impact on equity and home values as well. And that impact can vary pretty widely depending on which grocery store is in…

Foreclosures Up 57% YOY But Remain Far From Pre-Pandemic Levels

Foreclosures have now risen more than 50% YOY as filings edge closer to pre-pandemic levels, according to ATTOM’s October 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. A total of 32,376 properties had foreclosure filings in October, up 57% from a year ago. But month-to-month, foreclosures only rose by 2%. Foreclosures continue to climb steadily toward pre-pandemic levels after the foreclosure moratorium, pushing YOY data artificially to scary highs. Activity is still below what ATTOM considers normal levels. “October foreclosure activity was about 59% of pre-pandemic numbers, and at its current pace, foreclosures probably won’t be back to historically normal levels until sometime around mid-2023,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. Illinois, Delaware, and New Jersey were the…

Homeowner Equity Grew In Q3 Despite Cooling Market

Even as the housing market is rapidly cooling, homeowner equity rose again in Q3, according to ATTOM Data’s Q3 2022 Home Equity & Underwater Report. The report found that 48.5% of mortgaged residential properties were considered equity-rich, up from 48.1% in Q2 and from 39.5% a year earlier. This is a slower increase than previous quarters, but still the 10th quarter of gains. “Even though home price appreciation has slowed down dramatically in recent months, homeowners have continued to build equity,” said Rick Sharga, executive vice president of market intelligence at ATTOM. At least half of mortgagees in twenty states are now equity-rich, compared to only seven states at the same time last year. In total, 94.3% of all mortgage…

Sundae Aims To Help As-Is Sellers Connect With Property Investors

By KIMBERLEY HAAS Leaders at an online marketplace that connects property investors to homeowners selling as-is say their platform gives both parties more certainty during the process. People who have houses that are vacant, damaged from natural disasters, or have structural issues can be sold on the Sundae marketplace, but any number of potential sellers may benefit from the company’s services, according to Shaun Greer. Greer is the Senior Vice President of Revenue at Sundae. He recently sat down for an interview with The Mortgage Note. Greer said they have about 22,000 investors who are interested in purchasing “homes that need love.” “What Sundae does is partners with the homeowner and says, ‘Hey, we are going to get you the…

Rates Shoot Up To Nearly 7%

Mortgage rates skyrocketed again this week, nearing 7% as the affordability crisis escalates, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Freddie’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey found that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.70%, up from 6.29% just last week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.01%. “The uncertainty and volatility in financial markets is heavily impacting mortgage rates. Our survey indicates that the range of weekly rate quotes for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has more than doubled over the last year. This means that for the typical mortgage amount, a borrower who locked in at the higher end of the range would pay several hundred dollars more than a borrower who locked in at the lower end of the…

New Jersey, Illinois, And California Have Most Markets At Risk For Declines

As the housing cooldown continues, New Jersey, Illinois, and inland California have the highest concentration of at-risk markets, according to a new report from ATTOM. The Special Housing Risk Report spotlights county-level housing markets that are more or less vulnerable to declines, based on affordability, unemployment, and other measures from Q2 2022. The largest clusters of at-risk markets are around the NYC and Chicago metros, while Southern and midwestern starts have the least at-risk markets. The top 50 at-risk markets include nine in and around New York City, six in the Chicago metro area, and 13 throughout the entirety of California. The rest are spread throughout the country, with three around Philadelphia. These counties have elevated levels of unaffordable housing,…

Dwindling Refis Eclipsed Rising HELOC, Purchase Lending In Q2 2022

Refinance lending fell 36% from Q1 to Q2 2022, eclipsing increases in other lending areas, according to ATTOM’s second-quarter 2022 U.S. Residential Property Mortgage Origination Report. The report found that 2.39 million mortgages secured by residential property were originated in Q2 2022, down 13% from Q1 and 40% YOY. This is the fifth consecutive quarter of falling originations and the biggest annual drop since 2014. Though purchase originations and home-equity lending actually increased 8% and 35%, respectively, they were heavily outweighed by the double-digit refi drop. The total number of mortgages issued was down 13.2% from Q1 and 40% YOY, dropping at their fastest pace in eight years. Lenders issued $807.8 billion worth of mortgages overall in Q2, down 11%…

Half Of Mortgaged Homes Are Equity-Rich

Nearly half of mortgaged homes in the U.S. were equity-rich in Q2, with the most equity gains concentrated in the South, according to ATTOM’s Q2 2022 U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report. The report found that 48.1% of mortgaged residential properties had an estimated worth that topped their loan balances by 50% or more. That’s up from 44.9% in Q1 2022 and 34.4% YOY. At least half of all mortgagees in 18 states were equity-rich, up from just 3 states at the same time last year. It’s the ninth consecutive quarter in which the number of equity-rich homes increased. ATTOM also found that only 2.9% of mortgaged homes were considered seriously underwater in Q2, down from 3.2% in Q1 and…

Zombie Foreclosures Tick Up As Overall Foreclosure Activity Accelerates

Zombie foreclosures rose 3% from Q1 to Q2 2022, the first increase in a year, as overall foreclosure activity jumped 13%, ATTOM reported. Zombie properties– homes that sit vacant– account for 1.3 million properties in the U.S. That is one in every 76 homes. Among pre-foreclosure properties, 7,569 sit vacant in Q2, meaning that the number of zombie-foreclosure properties rose quarterly by 2.8%. Foreclosures are up 12.7% from Q1 2022 and 15.9% YOY, with 259,166 properties in the process of foreclosure in Q2 2022. This is the third consecutive quarter of increases since the national foreclosure moratorium was lifted in July 2021. “The incidence of zombie-foreclosures tends to be higher in cases where the foreclosure process has dragged on for…

Prices Are Up In Distressed Neighborhoods Due To Soaring HPI And Low Inventory Elsewhere

Home prices rose in Q1 2022 for the majority of Opportunity Zones, with the pace of gains in half of all zones besting quarterly and annual increases across the nation, ATTOM reported. Opportunity Zones are areas targeted for economic improvement, defined in the Tax Act legislation as census tracts in or alongside low-income neighborhoods that meet specific criteria for redevelopment. ATTOM analyzed 5,092 zones in the U.S. that had at least five home sales in Q1 2022. The report found that median single-family home and condo prices increased in 55% of zones between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. In 50%, prices rose by at least 20%, despite the fact that the pace of increases slowed in Q1. “Home price trends…