Florida consumer confidence rises six points

Consumer confidence among Floridians made huge gains in August, rising six points to 67 from its revised July index, suggesting a turning point as state residents come to grips with the bleak economic picture, a new University of Florida study finds. Four of the five index components rose – two by double-digits – and the remaining one was unchanged. The overall index is eight points higher than June’s reading of 59, which was the lowest in the survey’s 25-year history. The July index rose by two points to 61, one point higher than the preliminary index that was reported last month. “It looks like June will be the low point for consumer confidence,” says Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center at the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. There are signs that housing prices are beginning to stabilize in the Sunshine State, McCarty says. “While prices in Florida markets are still declining, the pace of the declines has slowed,” he said. “Overall, the median price of a home in Florida, excluding condos, is beginning to flatten.” McCarty said he believes retrospective data will show that home prices bottomed out in July for most Florida markets and that stabilization of housing prices will ultimately lead to stability in financial markets.

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Foreclosure filings up 120%

As foreclosures continue to soar, 220,000 homes were lost to bank repossessions in the second quarter, according to a housing market report issued by RealtyTrac. That's nearly triple the number from the same period in 2007. A total of 739,714 foreclosure filings were recorded during that three-month period, up 14% from the first quarter, and 121% from the same period in 2007. That means that one of every 171 U.S. households received a filing, which include notices of default, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.

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Florida Market Appears to Be Stabilizing

The Florida housing market has been one of the hardest hit in the country, but sales of single-family homes rose in Florida in July. It was the first increase in sales in more than two years. While only six more homes sold in July 2008 than in July 2007, it could indicate stabilization in Florida's housing sector, according to the latest housing statistics released by the Florida Association of REALTORS®. Florida's median sales price for existing homes last month was $193,600, down 19 percent from July a year ago. But that number isn’t so dramatic when you consider that the statewide existing-home median price was $164,000 in 2003. More than half of Florida's metropolitan statistical areas reported increased sales of existing homes in July; seven MSAs also showed gains in condo sales.

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Home price drop a record, but slump may be waning

A widely watched index released Tuesday showed home prices dropping by the sharpest rate ever in the second quarter, but the data for June suggest the severity of the housing slump may be waning. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index tumbled a record 15.4 percent during the quarter from the same period a year ago. The 20-city index fell by 15.9 percent in June compared with a year ago, the largest drop since its inception in 2000. In the Tampa Bay area, prices are down 20.1 percent year over year and 1.2 percent between May and June. The composite sales price of $175,110 in the bay area is the lowest since December 2004. However, the rate of single-family home price declines slowed from May to June, a possible silver lining, the index creators said.

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US July new home sales disappoint with 2.4% rise

US new home sales rose 2.4 percent in July from June to a pace that fell short of market expectations, in a further sign of housing market distress, government data showed Tuesday. The Commerce Department reported that sales of new one-family homes stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 515,000 units, while the consensus analyst forecast was 525,000. On a 12-month basis, the pace of new home sales was 35.3 percent below the July 2007 level.

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State Farm denied 47 percent property insurance rate hike

Florida insurance regulators Monday told State Farm Florida that it couldn't raise property insurance rates. The state's largest private property insurer had requested an average 47.1 percent increase. During a rate hearing two weeks ago, Office of Insurance Regulation staffers skeptically questioned the company's reports that it lost revenue because the Legislature forced it to double discounts for policyholders who harden their homes.

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11 Of 20 Florida Metro Areas Show Improving Home Sales

Beefed up by bank sales of foreclosure properties, Tampa Bay area home sales rose 5 percent in July, a positive trend mirrored in 11 of 20 Florida metro areas. Sales in Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough and Hernando counties totaled 2,174 in July vs. 2,068 in July 2007, according to the Florida Association of Realtors. It was only the second month since November 2005 that local housing activity improved year over year. Sales rose 1 percent in May. If sales are showing signs of stability, prices haven't halted their slide. The median price of a single-family home dropped 18 percent, from $215,600 in July 2007 to $176,500 in July 2008. National trends weren't all bad, either. Across the country, sales of existing homes rose 3.1 percent from June to July, about twice the rate economists expected. "The process of a recovery has begun," said Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors. "It's not going to be short and swift, but it's begun nonetheless."

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July Tampa Area Home Sales Up 5%, Prices Decline 18%

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater MSA reported a total of 2,174 homes sold in July compared to 2,068 homes a year ago for an 5 percent increase. The existing home median sales price was $176,500; a year ago, it was $215,600 for a 18 percent decrease. A total of 483 existing condos sold in the MSA last month compared to 543 condos the previous July for a 11 percent decrease. The market’s existing condo median price was $147,300; a year ago, it was $172,100 for a 14 percent decrease.

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Realtors say nationwide existing home sales rose in July

Sales of existing homes rose 3.1 percent in July, easily beating Wall Street's expectations, as buyers snapped up deeply discounted properties in parts of the country hit hardest by the housing bust. However, the number of unsold properties hit an all-time high, the latest indication that the worst housing market slump in decades is far from over. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5 million units. Sales had been expected to rise by only 1.6 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR. Home sales were 13.2 percent lower than a year ago and prices were down dramatically. The median price for a home sold in July dropped to $212,000, down by 7.1 percent a year ago.

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Some Questions (And Answers) On The $7,500 Home Tax Credit

Q. Can you change your W-4 form so that less income tax is withheld to get the money sooner than applying for the credit?

Q. If you take this tax credit for 2008, when would you begin owing payments?

Q. Because this is a loan from the IRS, will the IRS be sending an annual loan statement to taxpayers?

Q. Can I pay off the loan early?

Q. What happens if someone does not pay the debt back on time or at all?

Q. Will this be a debt that has to be settled at closing if you sell the house?

Q. If there is not a lien on the property, how will a settlement company know the debt is due when a homeowner sells?

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VA Raises Loan Cap to $729,000

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is raising ceilings on its no-downpayment home loans from the current $417,000 to as much as $729,000. The increases are effective immediately under legislation recently enacted with President Bush signing the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. That law also improved VA's Specially Adapted Housing Program. It raises primary grants from $50,000 to $60,000 toward constructing a new home or modifying an existing home to meet adaptive needs of veterans or active duty service members with certain service-connected disabilities. One new feature is a provision in the law that will assist burn victims. It will allow veterans with certain service-connected disabilities resulting from severe burns to receive the adaptive housing grants. The new law also makes future increases in ceilings on the Specially Adapted Housing Program automatic. The increased limits in the general home loan program for all veterans' home purchases or construction will be based on local housing costs, tied to the similar locality adjustments of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., Freddie Mac. VA home loans are available for veterans to purchase or construct single-family homes, and to purchase condominiums or cooperative apartments. There are about 2.3 million existing VA home loans, more than 90 percent made with no down payment.

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Experts Say Florida Most Expensive State For Insurance

Home insurance is priciest in states where Mother Nature is least kind. Wind, rain, hail, and hurricanes drive up the costs, and the high price of building materials doesn't help. Here, according to calculations by Forbes magazine, are the 10 most expensive places to buy homeowners insurance. One thing worth noting is that the numbers for Florida don’t include the 1.35 million properties insured by the state’s insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which is underwritten by tax dollars. Experts say if these numbers were reflected in the totals, Florida would be the most expensive. Here are the top 10 and their average annual insurance costs:

1. Texas, $1,372
2. Louisiana, $1,144
3. Oklahoma, $1,030
4. District of Columbia, $963
5. Mississippi, $939
6. Florida, $929
7. California, $895
8. Rhode Island, $849
9. Alabama, $847
10. Kansas, $836

In Pasco, location key to amount of home value drop

In southwest Pasco County's Beacon Square community, the housing decline is reflected in the roster of recent home sellers dumping properties for as little as $50,000: NovaStar Mortgage, Wachovia Bank, Bank of New York. In Wesley Chapel's Seven Oaks community, on the edge of the bustling New Tampa suburbs, new-home sales are helping prop prices above $350,000. Bank foreclosure sales are comparatively scarce on the ground. Since the housing boom ended in 2006, home prices have plunged 45 percent in Beacon Square, but only 9 percent in Seven Oaks. Beacon Square is the most depreciated community in Pasco County. Seven Oaks is the least.

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For some in Pinellas, assessed values top market

Pinellas County residents received word this week about what many already knew: The value of their property is decreasing. Despite that, about 189,000 home­owners will see their assessed values go up. Why? Blame Save Our Homes. The tax cap limits the yearly increase in assessed value to 3 percent. Over time, in a rising market, that creates a disparity between the market value and assessed value. At a time when property values are flat or decline, state law requires that assessed values continue to increase to close that gap.

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Housing slump spares few Pinellas neighborhoods

In the prolonged housing slump, few neighborhoods in Pinellas County have been immune to falling prices and sales. Single-family home sales are off about 75 percent from their peak in late 2004, dragging overall prices down about 10 percent from their highs in 2005-2006. An analysis of about 60,000 home sales between 2004 and 2008 — from Tierra Verde to Tarpon Springs — shows that some neighborhoods have sunk beneath the waves while others have trimmed sails and weathered the typhoon. Low- to moderate-income places like Bartlett Park and Highland Oaks in St. Petersburg and southeast Clearwater recorded home price declines of about 40 percent from the peak. But higher-than-average price declines are also the scourge of upper-income enclaves like Venetian Isles and Snell Isle, where the median home price has dropped from about $1-million to less than $600,000 this year. A tiny handful of neighborhoods — Lake St. George in Palm Harbor and Historic Oldsmar, for example — have largely ducked housing depreciation. Another bunch have suffered only modest drops. Euclid-St. Paul, northwest of downtown St. Petersburg, shows a 4 percent dip.

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Buying home beats renting in bay area, study shows

A new study that compares renting to owning says it makes financial sense to buy a lower-cost three-bedroom house in the Tampa Bay area. The study of the nation's 100 most populous cities grouped Tampa among 66 metro areas where buying will make you wealthier than renting through 2012. The other 34 metro areas, including Miami-Fort Lauderdale and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, were ranked as places where renting was the best option through 2012. The study was done by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Center for Economic and Policy Research. According to the data, a person who bought a lower-cost home in Tampa this year could expect to compile between $38,000 and $42,000 equity in his home within four years.

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Housing Weakness Prompts Lowering Of Long Term Mortgage Rates

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.47 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending August 21, 2008, down from last week when it averaged 6.52 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.52 percent.

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The Place At Channelside Condos To Be Auctioned

The fallout from an overbuilt condo market intensified as a bankruptcy judge has ordered the auction of the remaining vacant condos in the Place at Channelside, an insolvent development near the Port of Tampa. The Oct. 5 auction takes in 171 of 245 condos at the Place, ranging in size from 596-square-foot studios to a mammoth 3,665-square-foot penthouse. The whole portfolio will be sold as one unit with a minimum reserve price of $17.25-million. Based on the minimum bid requirement, units could sell for $100,000 each, far shy of the several-hundred-thousand-dollar asking price for previously purchased, modest-sized units.

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2008 Market Value Map Of Pinellas County

The map below shows the latest market values as determined by the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office for tax year 2008. Market Value is defined as a prediction of the most probable selling price of the property less the approximate cost of the sale.

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Tropical Storm Fay gets in way of home closings

The lingering and possibly loopy path of Tropical Storm Fay so far may be of little consequence to most in the bay area — unless you're trying to close on a home. Many insurers, including state-run Citizens Property Insurance, have a "no-bind" policy in place whenever a tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning has been issued by the National Weather Service for any part of Florida. That means that since Sunday, those who have not finalized insurance coverage on the sale of a property are in waiting mode until Fay takes off for good. If the storm intensifies and loops back into Florida after a brief time in the Atlantic as forecasters anticipate, that wait could go on a bit longer. The good news for home buyers in the storm's path: at least they're likely to find out about that leaky roof before they close.

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Home building activity, confidence drop in unison

More evidence that the nation's home builders are immersed in their worst funk in a generation: Construction activity and industry confidence has retreated to levels not seen since the 1980s and early 1990s. On Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department said single-family housing starts in July fell to a seasonally adjusted average of 641,000 units, the worst performance since January 1991. Builders pulled 589,000 permits for single-family homes, down 5.2 percent from June. The 589,000 permits represented the lowest total since August 1982.

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New Mortgage Law Has Buyers Scrambling

Housing industry observers expect that prospective buyers will scramble to take advantage of seller-funded down-payment assistance before a federal ban on such programs takes effect on Oct. 1. The federal housing bill signed into law in July sews up a loophole that allows nonprofit organizations to gift mortgage down payments, and industry experts believe markets that have relied heavily on the programs could see new-home sales cut by as much as half. Seller-funded downpayment assistance has served as a surrogate for subprime loans in some ways and has helped builders put first-time and low-income buyers into new homes.

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Tampa area home sales post July rebound

Another sign that home sales are no longer skydiving without a parachute? The Greater Tampa Association of Realtors showed July home sales rising 5 percent over those in July 2007. GTAR reported 1,336 sales in July 2008, 68 more than the 1,268 reported a year earlier. The association includes home sales from east-central Pasco County in its tabulations. One reason for the sales improvement is that prices have taken a pounding. They're down 16 percent in the July-to-July period. The average home sales price in July 2007 was $269,058. A year later the average price was $225,692. The top July for sales was 2,932 homes in 2005. This year's showing is 54 percent below that peak.

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Notice From Pinellas Realtor Organization

It is clear short sales are going to be with us for a number of years. Currently in the Pinellas market, 34% of the pending or active with contract status are in that category. A recent NAR report shows that in Florida $9 billion in subprime loans will reset in 2009 with another $8 billion scheduled to reset in 2009. The Tampa Bay area will continue to have a big share in those numbers.

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Florida Ranks No. 3 In Highest Closing Costs

A slowing housing market isn’t stopping closing costs from rising, according to a study by Bankrate.com. The 2007 average closing cost of $2,736 has gone up to an average of $3,118 in 2008, a 14 percent increase. New York City at $4,016 is the most expensive place to close. North Carolina is the least expensive area with an average fee of $2,650. Here are the top 10 most expensive states to pay closing costs.

1. New York: $4,016
2. Texas: $3,975
3. Florida: $3,683
4. Oklahoma: $3,558
5. New Mexico: $3,465
6. New Jersey: $3,432
7. Pennsylvania: $3,411
8. Alaska: $3,409
9. Colorado: $3,358
10. California: $3,321

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Tampa Bay In Path Of Hurricane Fay

The west coast of Florida from the Keys to Tarpon Springs is under a hurricane watch this evening, the National Hurricane Center announced Sunday afternoon. Forecasters have moved Fay's track west to graze the Tampa Bay area beginning about 2 p.m. Tuesday. Earlier they had predicted landfall in southwest Florida near Port Charlotte.

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Weak rules cripple appraiser oversight

As soaring home prices set the stage for America's great housing meltdown, a critical step in making sure those home sales were a fair deal — the real estate appraisal — was undermined from within. After the nation's last major banking disaster, Congress set up a system to catch rogue appraisers. Their game: inflating the value of homes at the direction of equally unscrupulous real estate agents and mortgage brokers, whose commissions are determined by the size of the deals. But a six-month Associated Press investigation found that the system is crippled by both the bumbling of its policemen and their inability to effectively punish those caught committing fraud. And despite ample evidence appraisers are pressured into inflating home values — sometimes to prices in support of loans that are more than buyers can afford — the federal regulators charged with protecting consumers have thus far made a conscious choice not to act.

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US housing market recovery not until 2009: analysts

As the US economy appears more than ever linked to the health of the housing market, analysts see no end to falling prices or recovery in the sector before 2009. After several years of a sizzling boom, housing prices in the United States have fallen for the past year and a half, according to the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller index. In May, prices fell a record 16 percent from a year ago. But for the majority of analysts, the price decline still is not enough to put the sector on the road to recovery. "Home prices in the US are likely to start to stabilize or touch bottom sometime in the first half of 2009," former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday. But "prices could continue to drift lower through 2009 and beyond," he added.

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Impact of bay area home vacancies runs deep

The problem with the Tampa Bay area's rising stock of vacant homes goes far beyond overgrown yards, piled-up phone books and fliers dangling from doorknobs. There's the tangible effect most homeowners fear: Property values of the occupied homes next door can drop as much as 2 percent a year. And there's the ripple effect: Cable, phone and power companies see a dip in revenue. Retailers see fewer customers at existing stores and are less likely to open new ones. Code enforcement calls go up, putting a strain on cities already hurt by budget cuts. Because of the ongoing foreclosure and credit crisis, there are more vacant homes in America now than ever before. Although the evidence is largely anecdotal, some estimate as many as 7 percent of the houses in the bay area are vacant.

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Allstate Insurance Settles Dispute With State

After being barred by state regulators from seeking new business and losing its appeal in state court, Allstate Corp. agreed on Friday to settle its dispute with Florida regulators. The insurance giant, which failed to comply with regulators' requests for rate-making documents, agreed to lower home insurance rates 5.6 percent across the state in the next 30 days. That's on top of a 14.2 percent rate reduction that took effect in June. Allstate also agreed to write 100,000 new homeowner policies over the next three years and will pay a $5 million fine. Half of the 100,000 new policies will be written for condominium owners and renters. The rest will be written for homeowners.

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Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Announce Changes For Borrowers

As of Oct. 1 for new mortgages delivered to Fannie Mae, and Nov. 7 for loans delivered to Freddie Mac, baseline "adverse market" fees will be doubled from one-quarter of a percentage point to one-half a percentage point — from $250 per $100,000 borrowed to $500 per $100,000 borrowed. That applies to all home purchasers and refinancers, irrespective of their individual risk characteristics. The higher fees either will be paid upfront by borrowers or folded into the interest rate on their notes, adding about an eighth of a point to the rate. Both companies now plan to reduce fees for borrowers with high FICO credit scores — 720 and up — who make down payments of less than 15 percent. At the application stage, these borrowers will be quoted credits of one-quarter of a percentage point, amounting to cuts in their fees. At the same time, borrowers with FICO scores below 720 and down payments of less than 15 percent will be charged upfront fees a quarter-point higher.

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Live Web Cam Of Clearwater Beach And Memorial Causeway

Perched on top of The Oaks of Clearwater, a luxury senior retirement community in downtown Clearwater at 420 Bay Avenue, this web cam offers live views of the Clearwater Memorial Causeway and beaches beyond.

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Tampa Bay No. 1 In Job Losses

Once a job-generating machine, Florida led the nation in job losses in July. For the third straight month. And Tampa Bay is the state's hardest-hit metro area. Thousands of Florida private sector workers lost their jobs last month as the unemployment rate jumped to 6.1 percent, its highest level in 13 years, state officials said Friday. That's a dramatic increase from the previous month's 5.5 percent and a sharp rise above the U.S. average of 5.7 percent.

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Florida's Existing Home, Condo Sales Improve in 2Q 2008 Compared to 1Q 2008

During the second quarter of 2008, Florida Realtors® continued to report positive signs for the state’s housing sector, such as an increase in pending home sales (based on contracts signed but not closed) and a slower rate of expansion of inventory levels in some areas. Sales of both existing single-family homes and existing condominiums improved in second quarter 2008 from the first quarter of the year, according to the latest housing statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR). A total of 35,178 existing homes sold statewide in 2Q 2008, up 38.2 percent over 1Q 2008 when 25,443 homes sold. The statewide existing home median price in 2Q 2008 was $203,000, slightly higher than the $202,300 median price reported in 1Q 2008.

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Mixed Housing News Keeps Long Term Interest Rates Unchanged

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.52 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending August 14, 2008, unchanged from last week when it averaged 6.52 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.62 percent.

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Judge tosses Amendment 5 from ballot

A Tallahassee circuit court judge has deemed the wording of Amendment 5 misleading, stripping it from the November ballot. The state is certain to appeal, and the case will likely go directly to the Florida Supreme Court.

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US foreclosure filings surge 55 percent

The number of homeowners stung by the dramatic decline in the U.S. housing market jumped last month as foreclosure filings grew by more than 50 percent compared with the same month a year ago, according to data released Thursday. Nationwide, more than 272,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in July, up 55 percent from about 175,000 in the same month last year and up 8 percent from June, RealtyTrac Inc. said. That means one in every 464 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing last month. In the report, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area in Florida was the metro area with the highest rate of foreclosure, followed by three California cities: Merced, Stockton, and Modesto. Las Vegas ranked fifth.

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Tax 'Mess' Muddles Short Sales Of Homes

As Florida's coffers shrink in the face of a dour economy, confusion over a tax statute threatens to choke the flow of home sales at a time when the state is struggling under the burden of millions of unsold properties. The problematic statute mandates how much tax people pay when they sell a house. In typical transactions, the law is clear about paying taxes on the price of the property, but as lenders agree to more short sales - allowing troubled owners to sell homes for less than the mortgage and writing off the rest - there's disagreement over how much tax to charge. Some say the tax should be charged on the lower price, a practice that is standard across the state. Others wonder whether the tax should be based on the amount of the mortgage.

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Consumer advocate seeks State Farm rate cut of 40 percent

Instead of facing a proposed 47.1 percent average increase in property insurance premiums, State Farm's nearly 1-million customers statewide should see rates cut almost 40 percent, according to Florida's insurance consumer advocate.

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How to buy a foreclosed home

Hoping to score a house on the cheap by buying a foreclosed property? There are good deals out there, but the process is complicated and risky. Here's what you need to know.

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Homebuyers, Beware: Tax Aid Is Loan

Under the new law, certain homeowners will be eligible for a tax credit equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of a home, up to a maximum of $7,500. The credit is $3,750 for married couples filing separately. Unmarried people who jointly purchase a home will be able to divide the $7,500 credit. A tax credit is much more valuable than a deduction. A credit reduces the amount of tax you owe. A deduction merely reduces the amount of your income that is taxable. Before you rush to take advantage of this, be aware it's a loan cloaked as a credit.

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Ghost Homes And Ghost Neighborhoods

A three-bedroom, two-bath home with stainless-steel appliances and upgraded counter tops is listed at $195,000. This time last year, the same model sold for about $260,000.

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The Credit Crisis Turns One

Happy birthday, credit crisis. It was a year ago August that the world began to suspect the economy was heading into something worse than a slump. Now as another August heaves into view, the credit crisis is a year bigger and -- like many 1-year-olds -- indiscriminate about where it makes its messes. The real concern is how much bigger it will get. The crisis has transformed the housing market from weak to downright disastrous. Home prices are tumbling, foreclosures are spiking, and the bottom of the market seems more distant than ever. Gone are the loose lending standards that helped millions of people buy houses they couldn't afford otherwise. Today, securing a loan can be tough, even for buyers with decent credit.

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Big Gain in Pending Home Sales Index

Some improvement is projected for existing-home sales in the months ahead, with broader gains seen by the fourth quarter as buyers take advantage of new provisions provided through the recently passed housing stimulus bill, according to the latest forecast by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in June, rose 5.3 percent to 89.0 from a downwardly revised reading of 84.5 in May, but remains 12.3 percent below June 2007 when it stood at 101.4. Sales gains have been consistently strong in recent months in Sacramento, Calif.; Las Vegas; and Ft. Myers, Fla., where affordability conditions have greatly improved. Here's a deeper look at the index throughout the country:

* South: jumped 9.3 percent to 92.4 in June but is 16.6 percent below June 2007.
* West: rose 4.6 percent to 101.0 in June but remains 1.7 percent below a year ago.
* Northeast: increased 3.4 percent to 79.6 but is 15.4 percent below June 2007.
* Midwest: rose 1.3 percent in June to 79.6 but is 13.3 percent below a year ago.

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Long Term Mortgage Rates Unchanged From Last Week

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.52 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending August 7, 2008, unchanged from last week when it averaged 6.52 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.59 percent.

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Mortgages Made in 2007 Go Bad at Rapid Clip

Mortgages issued in the first part of 2007 are going bad at a pace that far outstrips the 2006 vintage, suggesting that the blow to the financial system from U.S. housing woes will be deeper than many people earlier estimated. An analysis prepared for The Wall Street Journal by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. shows that 0.91% of prime mortgages from 2007 were seriously delinquent after 12 months, meaning they were in foreclosure or at least 90 days past due. The equivalent figure for 2006 prime mortgages was just 0.33% after 12 months. The data reflect delinquencies as of April 30.

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Value Of Property In State Drops $153 Billion In Year

The values of homes, businesses and other properties across Florida declined $153 billion during the past year, and the murky economic picture isn't expected to improve until sometime in 2009, state officials said. Total property values decreased an unprecedented 6 percent, double the figure economists had projected last year. The decline would have been worse if not for $55.6 billion spent on new construction, according to data reported by The Miami Herald in its Wednesday editions. Next year, state property values are expected to drop another 4.92 percent. However, economists expect the situation to slowly improve after the slump.

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Getting a Mortgage Tougher for Buyers

Difficulty in landing a mortgage is keeping many buyers out of the market. At the peak of the housing boom, about 20 percent of the mortgage market was subprime, and nearly 20 percent was "Alt-A loans” or "A-minus" loans, typically offered those with good credit but with high debt-to-loan ratios or little or no proof of income. Both categories are now nearly extinct. That means about 40 percent of the residential mortgage market has all but disappeared, according to David Olson of Wholesale Access Mortgage Research and Consulting.

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Economists: Housing Declines to Remain Small

A team of economists who created a variety of forecasting models concludes that predictions of further large housing price declines are greatly overblown. They point to the house price index of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise as most reflective of reality. Its data reveals that only four states — Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada — have had declines of more than 4 percent in home prices over the past year. These economists, including professors from Columbia University and from the Center for Real Estate at Wichita State University in Kansas, discount more drastic figures from the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller housing price index. They say this index is faulty because it doesn’t include data from 13 states and offers only partial coverage of 29 others, making its results an inaccurate reflection of middle-market homeownership. Using a model constructed from the OFHEO price index, foreclosures, home sales, permits and employment, the economic team concluded that declines in house prices are highly likely to remain small.

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