Nenita Dasalla- Single Family Residence Real Estate Sales Consultant

The Wall Street Journal

Converting home equity into cash has been a challenge for homeowners since the real-estate downturn, but a growing number of lenders are quietly reviving a loan for seniors that does just that: The reverse mortgage.
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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204542404577158990079313270.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LeftTopNews

San Diego Union-Tribune
The number of loan servicers taking part in a state mortgage-aid program continues to grow roughly one year after its launch.  The Keep Your Home California program now has 55 participating mortgage servicers, up from 21 in June.
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http://utsandiego.com/news/2012/jan/10/more-lenders-added-calif-mortgage-aid-program/

By an overwhelming margin, American voters strongly value homeownership and would oppose efforts to weaken or eliminate the mortgage interest deduction or diminish a federal role to help qualified home buyers obtain affordable 30-year mortgages, according to a national survey conducted on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders.  The survey gauged voters’ attitudes towards homeownership and housing policy issues.

The poll shows that three out of four voters – both owners and renters — believe it is appropriate and reasonable for the federal government to provide tax incentives to promote homeownership. This sentiment cuts across regional and party lines.

Highlights of the survey include:

• Two-thirds of respondents say that the federal government should help home buyers to afford a long-term or 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.
• Nearly 75 percent of voters oppose eliminating the mortgage interest deduction.
• Sixty-eight percent would be less likely to vote for a congressional candidate who proposed to abolish the deduction.
• Ninety-six percent of homeowners are happy with their decision to own, and 84 percent who are “underwater” expressed the same sentiment.
• Job uncertainty and saving for a downpayment and closing costs are the biggest barriers to buying a home.

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HUD and the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury released the December edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard this week.  Data in the Scorecard show some subtle improvements in the market over the past year, but underscore fragility as the overall outlook remains mixed. For example, new and existing home sales rose compared with the prior month and remain higher than a year ago, and homes are more affordable than they have been since 1971. Median-income families today have nearly double the funds needed to cover the cost of the average home.  However, home prices showed a slight dip from the prior month and remain below year ago levels.

The December Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market and the impact of the Administration’s foreclosure prevention programs, including:

• More than 5.5 million modification arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of November 2011 – including more than 1.7 million HAMP trial modification starts and more than 1.1 million FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions.
• Nearly 910,000 homeowners have received a HAMP permanent modification to date, saving an estimated $9.9 billion in monthly mortgage payments. The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved standards and processes in the industry, with HOPE Now lenders offering families and individuals more than 2.6 million proprietary mortgage modifications through November.

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Home values in the United States were essentially unchanged in November, decreasing a marginal 0.1 percent from October, according to this month’s Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Annually, the Zillow Home Value Index fell 4.6 percent from November 2010 to $147,800 and has returned to late 2003 levels.

Regionally, home values appreciated or remained flat from October to November in 60 percent of the 165 housing markets covered by Zillow, compared with 24 percent the year prior. Major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) that experienced flat or increasing home values include Los Angeles, Washington, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., San Francisco, and Detroit. On an annual basis, the median home value is down for nearly all (90 percent) of the 165 MSAs covered by Zillow, although the rate of annualized depreciation has slowed significantly in the majority of the markets.

“Even with the anticipated increase in foreclosures, look for 2012 to be a transitional year in which home values fall modestly followed by a prolonged period of flat home values,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “We’re still three to five years away from ‘normal’ housing market conditions.”

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