By KIMBERLEY HAAS A realtor who works in Florida says he has represented a number of buyers in the past two years that moved to the Sunshine State for more than its warm weather. They were escaping COVID pandemic restrictions, John Alestra, who works at Agile Group Realty in Tampa, said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note. “A lot of the feedback I got from folks, a lot of it was just they didn’t want to deal with their states. They saw how they handled the pandemic. They wanted to make that move to a state where they felt they could live their lives a little more freely,” Alestra said. Alestra said they missed the basic life they…
Home price growth cooled again in September, increasing only 11.4%, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index. This is the fifth month of lower YOY growth. Two-thirds of American metros saw at least some month-over-month declines as well, contributing to a 0.5% national decrease from August. Southeastern states continued to see higher price appreciation than other areas. Florida topped the list for the eighth straight month with 23% growth, followed by South Carolina (+17.6%) and Tennessee (+17.4%). Washington, D.C. ranked last with only 1.8% appreciation. “The rapid increase in prices during the COVID-19 pandemic caused many U.S. housing markets to reach completely unaffordable levels for potential local homebuyers,” said Selma Hepp, interim Lead of the Office of the Chief Economist at…
Mortgage credit availability dropped to its lowest level since March 2013 in September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI). The MCAI fell by 5.4% to a reading of 102.5 last month. This is the seventh straight month of tightening lending standards. The Conventional MCAI fell 4.9%. Its component indices also declined, with the Jumbo down 5.8% and the Conforming down 3.6%. The Government MCAI also dropped by 5.8%. This index has fallen in seven of the last eight months, and is now its lowest point since April 2013. Most of these indices have fallen to their lowest levels in more than a year. “With the likelihood of a weakening economy, which would lead to…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS Officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency are warning survivors of Hurricane Ian they should be aware of con artists and criminals looking to take advantage of the situation. Predators may promise homeowners a disaster grant in return for payment or fill out an application for assistance without a person’s knowledge, according to the FEMA website. “If a FEMA Inspector comes to your home and you did not submit a FEMA application, your information may have been used without your knowledge to create a FEMA application. If so, please inform the inspector that you did not apply for FEMA assistance so they can submit a request to stop further processing of the application,” the website says. People…
Home price appreciation cooled in July though growth remained elevated from a year earlier, according to new data. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price NSA Index saw home prices decelerate, posting a 15.8% annual gain in July, down from 18.1% in the previous month. This is the largest monthly deceleration in the history of the index. “Although U.S. housing prices remain substantially above their year-ago levels, July’s report reflects a forceful deceleration,” said Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI. The 10-City Composite reported a 14.9% increase YOY, down from 17.4% in June, while the 20-City Composite rose by 16.1% YOY, down from 18.7%. July’s gains were less than June’s for each of the 20 cities analyzed. Tampa…
Mortgage fraud risk dropped 7.5% YOY in Q2 2022, with one in 131 mortgage applications containing instances of fraud, CoreLogic reported. In contrast, Q2 2021 saw fraud in 1 in 120 applications. Mortgage fraud is defined as the deliberate act of lying or omitting information that is used by an underwriter or lender to fund, purchase, or insure a mortgage loan. CoreLogic’s Mortgage Fraud Risk Index showed fraud risk in mid-2022 coming down from a point of high risk in 2021. The company said it is also partly due to a recalibration of its sourcing model in Q1 2022. After the update, the index showed higher risk during certain months in Q2. For example, while overall fraud risk fell, income…
Home price appreciation slowed for the second month straight in June, but remains in the high double-digits. CoreLogic’s Home Price Index found that home prices increased by 18.3% YOY in June, the 125th month of consecutive annual price growth. This is down from May’s 20.2% YOY increase. CoreLogic attributes the cool-off to reduced buyer demand from rising interest rates and concerns about the economy. Month-over-month, prices are down 0.6%. “Signs of a broader slowdown in the housing market are evident, as home price growth decelerated for the second consecutive month. This is in line with our previous expectations and given the notable cooling of buyer demand due to higher mortgage rates and the resulting increased cost of homeownership,” said Selma…
Delinquencies fell for the thirteen consecutive month in April, down 1.8% YOY and unchanged from the month prior, according to CoreLogic’s latest Loan Performance Insights Report. Only 2.9% of mortgages across the nation were in some stage of delinquency in April. Serious delinquencies, those which are 90 days or more past due, have seen the most change in the last year. They account for 1.4% of all mortgages, down from 3.3% at the same time last year, and have fallen from a high of 4.3% in August 2020. All states saw annual declines in their overall delinquency rate in April. The states with the largest declines were Nevada (-3.2%), Hawaii (-3%), and New Jersey (-2.7%). Early-stage delinquencies are up 1%…
Patrick Dodd has been named president and chief executive officer of CoreLogic, the company announced in a press release. “I am honored and excited to continue leading our outstanding team through this next important phase of growth and transformational evolution for our company,” Dodd said. Dodd replaced former CEO Frank Martell in January when Martell said it was time for him to “step back” from leading the company. Martell took a non-executive position as chair of the board of directors, and Dodd became interim CEO. Prior to that announcement, Dodd served as CoreLogic’s chief operating and growth officer. Other past positions include a long tenure at TV ratings firm Neilson, including holding the title of president of Nielsen Europe, China,…
Delinquencies dropped to another record low in March, with only 2.7% of all mortgages in the U.S. experiencing some stage of delinquency, according to CoreLogic’s monthly Loan Performance Insights Report. Delinquencies were down 2.2 percentage points from March 2021, when they were at 4.9%. The share of early-stage delinquencies, or loans 30 to 59 days past due, was 1%, unchanged YOY, while the share of adverse delinquencies (60 to 89 days past due) was down 0.1% YOY to 0.3%. Serious delinquencies accounted for only 1.4% of U.S. mortgages, down from 3.5% the year prior and a high of 4.3% in August 2020. The share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process, known as the Foreclosure Inventory Rate, decreased…
