The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have released the March edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard. Officials caution that the latest housing figures underscore fragility in the housing market and the need to continue efforts to help American families stay in their homes. The housing scorecard is a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market.
"There’s no question that this month’s figures show a troubling dip in home sales and housing prices,” said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. “While we should not ignore the real impact that the Obama Administration’s programs are having for millions of homeowners and borrowers, these statistics clearly show that housing markets across the country continue to struggle to regain stable footing. We must remain steadfast in our efforts to support homeowners and communities in ways to help advance market stabilization and a transition towards health.”
The March Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market including:
►Housing market remains fragile as data through February paint a mixed picture of recovery. Home prices remain weak under continued strain from foreclosures and distressed home sales, according to CoreLogic data now available in the Housing Scorecard. Mortgage delinquencies continued a downward trend compared to early 2010 and foreclosure starts and completions remain below peak. However, as lenders review internal procedures related to foreclosure processing, many foreclosure actions have been delayed. The decline is likely to be temporary as lenders eventually revise and resubmit foreclosure paperwork in the coming months.
►Administration efforts have helped millions of families deal with the effects of the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression. Since April of 2009, record low mortgage rates have helped nearly 10 million homeowners to refinance, resulting in $18.1 billion in total borrower savings. More than 4.4 million modification arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of February 2011—including more than 1.5 million HAMP trial modification starts, more than 776,000 FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions, and nearly 2.2 million proprietary modifications under HOPE Now. While some homeowners may have received help from more than one program, the number of agreements offered was more than double the number of foreclosure completions for the same period (1.9 million).
"The latest data underscore the importance of continuing our efforts to help families stay in their homes,” said acting Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Tim Massad. “In recent months, the Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program has helped over 25,000 additional families avoid foreclosure, and it has set important standards that have led to more than two million mortgage modifications outside of the program. We are also working hard to implement additional programs to assist families in the hardest-hit states. We will continue these efforts so that we help more Americans remain in their homes and help our nation recover from this crisis.”
Given the current fragility and recognizing that recovery will take place over time, the Administration remains committed to its efforts to prevent avoidable foreclosures and stabilize the housing market.
