Thursday, December 30, 2010

Home Affordability Continues in Mercer Co, NJ

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have released the December edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard. The figures show continued home affordability in the housing market, with interest rates near record lows.  The market, however, remains fragile.  Prices are unsettled in many areas (contact me to find out about your own community), but foreclosure starts and completions dropped significantly in November. 

“The Obama Administration’s broad set of programs have helped promote stability for the housing market, neighborhoods, and the nation’s homeowners, but there is much more work to be done,” said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. “Since taking office in 2009, the Administration’s efforts have helped millions of families stay in their homes and helped millions more refinance, but the data clearly show that the market remains extremely fragile. That’s why we’re continuing to focus on successfully implementing the programs we’ve put in place—such as additional refinancing assistance and emergency loans to help unemployed homeowners—and ensuring that help is available to homeowners as early as possible.”

Key points of the HUD report:
-Foreclosure starts and completions dropped significantly in November. As lenders review internal procedures related to foreclosure processing, many foreclosure actions have been delayed, leading to a 21% drop in foreclosure activity in November. While this is the biggest month-over-month decrease since 2005, the decline is likely to be temporary, as lenders eventually revise and resubmit foreclosure paperwork in the coming months.
-As expected with the expiration of the Home Buyer Tax Credit, new and existing home sales have remained below levels seen in the first half of 2010. However, the report shows that home prices and home equity declined moderately, as prices remain unsettled at this fragile stage of the recovery.
-More than 3.9 million mortgage aid offers were initiated between April 2009 and the end of October 2010—more than double the number of foreclosure completions during that time. These actions included over 1.4 million Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) trial modification starts, more than 600,000 Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions, and nearly 1.8 million proprietary modifications under HOPE Now. While some homeowners may have received help from more than one program, the number of agreements offered were more than double the number of foreclosure completions for the same period (1.7 million).

If you want to find out the value of your Hamilton NJ home in today's market, call or email.  If you are having trouble paying your mortgage, don't wait - call or email me today.  You have options to foreclosure.

Joe Giancarli, SA
Short Sale Specialist
Real Estate Advisor
609-658-2612
jgiancarli@remax.net
http://www.joegiancarli.com/
http://www.njhomesource.com/
http://www.newjerseynewhomes.blogspot.com/
www.activerain.com/blogs/josephgiancarli

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