Mortgage delinquencies have declined for four consecutive months and remain below levels from a year ago, while sales of existing homes in the first quarter were 5.3 percent higher than one year ago, according to the April edition of the Obama administration’s Housing Scorecard.
According to the scorecard, put out by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Department of the Treasury, federal data show signs of stability, though the overall outlook remains mixed. Data on home prices were soft in many mortgage markets, though adjusting for the traditionally slow winter months reveals the first uptick in prices since April 2011. The full report is available online at www.hud.gov/scorecard.
"We’re making important progress in providing relief to homeowners under the Obama Administration’s programs," said HUD Assistant Secretary Raphael Bostic. "With fewer borrowers falling behind on their mortgages and almost half a million families taking advantage of our enhanced Home Affordable Refinance Program – standing to save on average $2,500 per year – it’s clear that the Administration’s efforts continue to provide significant positive benefits. But with so many homeowners still struggling to pay their mortgages or move into more sustainable loans, we cannot rest on our laurels. That is why we are asking the Congress to approve the President’s refinancing proposal so that more homeowners can receive assistance."
More than 5.9 million modification arrangements were started between April 2009 and the end of March 2012, including more than 1.8 million Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) trial modification starts and more than 1.3 million Federal Housing Administration loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions.
As of March, more than 990,000 homeowners received a permanent HAMP modification, saving approximately $535 on their mortgage payments each month with a total estimated savings of $12.2 billion to date. Eighty-six percent of homeowners entering the program in the last 21 months have received a permanent modification, with an average trial period of 3.5 months. After six months in the program, more than 94 percent of homeowners remain in their HAMP permanent modification. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Mortgage Metrics Report for the fourth quarter of 2011 found that HAMP modifications continue to exhibit lower delinquency and re-default rates than industry modifications.
