Foreclosure Program Extended to 2016
Administration announced Thursday that it will extend its Making Home Affordable Program to help home
owners avoid foreclosure, as well as use Treasury funds to ramp up construction of affordable rental housing. The Making Home Affordable Program will now be extended through December 2016. More than 1.3 million home owners have already used program to modify their mortgages. Although nationwide foreclosure rates have started dropping, millions of families are still struggling. Different estimates of underwater households range from 6.5 million to 9.7 million at the end of 2013. Foreclosure Market Report.
Builder Eyes Home-Rental Market
As Home Sales Remain Restrained: Lennar Corp.,
one of the nation's largest home builders, is "considering" a move to build 
homes intended to rent if first-time home buyers continue to be reluctant, said the builder's chief executive, in a quarterly conference call Thursday. Miller says he doesn't expect mortgage qualification standards to ease enough anytime soon for more first-time home buyers to come off the sidelines. As such, he says Lennar is eyeing the home rental market as a way to ramp up business until they do. We Ask Will Millennials Break Into Ownership?
Mortgage Rates Slide
Mortgage interest rates were on the rise at this time last year on speculation that the Federal Reserve might soon start 
tapering its bond purchases. Contrary to what happened then, rates have remained relatively calm. Nearly a year after shooting up past 4 percent, the 30-year average fixed mortgage rate is now coming back down toward the same mark, Adjustable rates also slipped this week. As mortgage rate now coming back down, More Americans Squeezed by Housing Costs, read more.
May/June 2014 Housing Market Show some Improvement
The housing market is starting to show some improvement after a slow start to the year: 'Home price improvements 
have contributed to consumers' household wealth, but overall growth in the housing market pulled back in the first quarter. More recent housing indicators were mixed, with only moderate improvement, “While the recent up tick in rates may have a little to do with a drop in mortgage application volume, purchase activity in many areas nationwide continues to suffer from a lack of inventory and confidence. Still, the market did receive some good news this week: Existing-home sales were up 4.9 percent in May -- the highest monthly rise since 2011.
Short Sales 'Drop' Trims House Inventory
Underwater Owners Refusing Short Sales: Real estate professionals say that their underwater sellers are less likely to 
consider a short sale, even if faced with foreclosure. Short sales have fallen sharply over the last few months after the expiration of a key tax break at the end of last year. In May, short sales accounted for about 3 percent of existing-home sales transactions. That's down from 19.7 percent in January 2012, according to data from Black Knight Financial Services. Underwater sellers remove their properties from the market in January and February. Also, rising home prices have made lenders less likely to grant a short sale, The Wall Street Journal reports, read more.
Salt Lake City Housing Market rebounds by 100%
Home Prices Increase 6% in May: In the May 2014 Residential & Foreclosure Sales
Report that U.S. properties sold at an estimated annual pace of 5.1 million in May. The pace of sold homes remained virtually unchanged from April, with a small increase of less than 1 percent from May 2013. Higher price ranges are seeing a growth and an increase in market share. Prices in every price range above $200,000 increased as a share of total sales, both monthly and yearly. Increases were 'generally higher' in the higher price ranges. Watch Nineveh Dinha talks with Grant Whitaker from the Utah Housing Corporation about how the Salt Lake City Housing Market has made a 100-percent rebound.
Mortgages Suffer-Misconception about Down Payments
Down Payments: Today's Most Persistent Misconception about Mortgages, There's a pervasive view held by younger 
consumers when considering whether to purchase a home or not. Consumers persistently overestimate the size of a down payment they need in order to finance a home, and this lack of education is harming the housing market. With mortgage rates still near historic lows, new home ownership opportunities are poised to grow. The challenge is finding those who don't realize they can afford to finance a home and showing them how they can, see rates and read more.
