Obama administration: Housing recovery has some momentum

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released the July edition of the Obama administration’s Housing Scorecard — a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market.

Data in the Housing Scorecard show continued signs of recovery as foreclosure starts and completions declined in June, though officials expect activity to increase in the coming months as firms lift delays in foreclosure processing. In addition, the inventory of houses for sale remained low; at current pace, it would take 6.6 months to sell the supply of existing homes on the market and 4.9 months to clear the new homes on the market. Experts consider a six-month supply of homes to be a balanced market. Distressed sales remain a key factor, however, as the impact of serious delinquencies and underwater mortgages continue to temper market gains.

The full report is available online at hud.gov/scorecard.

“This month’s indicators show momentum not seen since before the housing crisis as refinances through our enhanced Home Affordable Refinance Program continue to surge; HARP loans represented 20 percent of total refinance volume in May, the largest increase since the program was launched in 2009,” HUD Acting Assistant Secretary Erika Poethig said. ”But with so many households still struggling to make ends meet, it’s clear that we have more work ahead.”

July 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 1.2 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place through the administration’s Making Home Affordable Program, while the Federal Housing Administration has offered more than 1.4 million loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions. HOPE Now lenders have offered families and individuals more than 2.9 million proprietary mortgage modifications through May.

• As of June, more than one million homeowners have received a permanent HAMP modification, saving approximately $537 on their mortgage payments each month, and an estimated $13.9 billion to date. In June, 75 percent of homeowners with non-GSE mortgages benefitted from principal reduction with their HAMP modification. Eighty-six percent of homeowners starting the program in the last two years have received a permanent modification. HAMP modifications continue to exhibit lower delinquency and re-default rates than private industry modifications, with 94 percent of homeowners still current on their modified payments after six months.