Foreclosures increased nationwide in Q1 2024 as mounting affordability pressures push homeowners into situations where they are unable to pay their mortgages.
According to ATTOM’s latest Foreclosure Market Report, a total of 95,349 U.S. properties had foreclosure filings during the first quarter. This is up 3% from Q4 2023, but down under 1% YOY.
“Q1 2024’s foreclosure data reveals a market in transition, with slight increases in filings and starts, alongside a notable decrease in REO properties,” explained Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM.
“While foreclosures remain relatively stable, we’re closely monitoring these trends. Homeowners continue to hold significant equity, contributing to a persistently hot housing market.”
REOs were up 7% from the previous quarter but plummeted by 20% YOY.
Foreclosure…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Home flipping activity is down across the nation as people who work in the industry see reduced returns on investments due to high interest rates and inflation.
Last month, ATTOM released its 2023 U.S. Home Flipping Report, which showed that 308,922 single-family homes and condos in the United States were flipped last year. That was down 29.3% from 436,807 in 2022 and is the largest annual drop since 2008.
The report further revealed that as the number of homes flipped by investors declined, so did flips as a portion of all home sales, from 8.6% in 2022 to 8.1% percent last year.
Rob Barber, ATTOM’s CEO, said high interest rates and inflation have elevated costs for…
By CHUCK GREEN
They may not be your typical neighbors, but they could be moving next door soon: Friends who have carpooled their way into homeownership.
According to a recent survey by JW Surety Bonds, nearly 15% of Americans have co-purchased a home with a person other than their romantic partner and another 48% would consider it.
Just over a quarter (26%) of the individuals who co-purchased a home with a non-romantic partner said they bought it with a friend.
Not surprisingly, young people are the most likely to consider this option. Gen Z would be the most willing to co-buy with a friend at 70%, with one in four Zoomers saying they believe co-buying a home can strengthen relationships.…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Compared to homeowners, renters feel bad about their finances, but in most of the country renting is the more affordable option right now.
A recent Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll shows that homeowners are nearly twice as likely to say they are getting ahead financially when compared to renters. 57% of renters and 29% of homeowners described their financial situation as “poor.”
According to Emily Peck, a markets correspondent at Axios, part of the problem is that the median asking rent in the U.S. is up 40% from the first quarter of 2020. With average hourly earnings rising only 20% during the same time period, wages did not keep up with costs.
Homeowners were…
With mortgage rates beginning to moderate, investors are back and snapping up the most wanted homes on the market.
Investors bought 26% of America’s lowest-priced homes in Q4 2023, according to a new report from Redfin, a record-high share and up from 24% at the same time last year.
By comparison, they bought 13.6% of mid-priced homes that sold and 15.9% of high-priced homes, both increases.
Investors are more choosey now than they have been in recent memory, looking for lower-cost homes they can rent or flip for better profits.
“I get tons of emails every day from investors looking for properties, but of course, they only want homes that are under market value, which are hard to come by.…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Gross profits and profit margins remained near record levels for sellers last year but they decreased for the first time since 2011 in what could be seen as a sign of a cooling housing market.
ATTOM released its Year-End 2023 U.S. Home Sales Report on Jan. 24, which shows that home sellers made a $121,000 profit on the typical sale in 2023, generating a 56.5% return on investment.
Compare that to 2022, when the gross profit on median-priced single-family homes was $122,600 and the profit margin was 59.8%.
This drop in profits happened as the median nationwide home price rose at the smallest annual pace in more than a decade, according to ATTOM.
So is this…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
Foreclosure numbers are up by double-digit numbers and industry leaders say they will continue to rise this year.
Earlier this month, ATTOM, a curator of land, property, and real estate data, released its Year-End 2023 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions — were reported on 357,062 U.S. properties in 2023, up 10% from 2022 and 136% from 2021.
CEO Rob Barber told The Mortgage Note several elements may be contributing to the rise in foreclosures.
“Key among them is the increase in interest rates, especially for adjustable-rate mortgages, leading to higher monthly payments for homeowners. Additionally, escalating unemployment rates are a concern,” Barber said.
Barber said…
Many Americans still can’t afford to buy a home as prices remain elevated and rates cool slowly, but sellers are already experiencing the unavoidable next step of price declines: falling profits.
Profits on home sales fell last year for the first time since 2011 despite price gains, according to new data from ATTOM. Home sellers made a $121,000 profit on the typical sale in 2023, a 56.5% return on investment.
This is a historically strong number – more than double what it was five years ago – but both gross profits and profit margins were down from 2022.
At the same time, the national median home price increased at the slowest pace in 12 years.
ATTOM noted that the data…
By ERIN FLYNN JAY
As 2023 comes to a close, industry leaders say there were some highs, but leaving this year behind won’t be a problem for many mortgage professionals.
ATTOM CEO Rob Barber said in the spring, as the peak homebuying season heated up, lenders nationwide enjoyed their first quarterly increase in mortgage activity after eight consecutive declines dating back to early 2021.
“The second-quarter rebound was huge as total loans shot up 22%. The spike was powered by across-the-board, double-digit gains in purchase, refinance, and home-equity credit line deals,” said Barber.
But the turnaround was quick lived, he said, as the numbers went back down in the third quarter, with overall activity decreasing by 3%. Only refinance lending…
By KIMBERLEY HAAS
Distressed homeowners who get behind on their mortgage bills are avoiding foreclosure.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey was released last week and it showed that delinquencies increased in the third quarter to a rate of 3.62%, up 25 basis points from the second quarter and 17 basis points from a year ago.
Marina Walsh, MBA’s vice president of industry analysis, said that despite the increase, later-stage delinquencies – those 90 days or more past due – declined to the lowest level since the first quarter of 2020.
“The decline in later-stage delinquencies, along with a foreclosure starts rate of 0.14% – which is well below the historical quarterly average of 0.40% – suggest that distressed…
