The Index now stands at 53.5 (1985=100), up from 51.0 in July. The Present Situation Index decreased to 24.9 from 26.4. The Expectations Index increased to 72.5 from 67.5 last month.
Data through June 2010, released today by Standard & Poor’s for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index rose 4.4% in the second quarter of 2010, after having fallen 2.8% in the first quarter. Nationally, home prices are 3.6% above their year-earlier levels. In June, 17 of the 20 MSAs covered by S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices and both monthly composites were up; and the two composites and 15 MSAs showed year-over-year gains. Housing prices have rebounded from crisis lows, but other recent housing indicators point to more ominous signals as tax incentives have ended and foreclosures continue.
The Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI) Purchase-Only Series for the United States registered a 3.1 percent (13.2 percent annualized) increase in the second quarter relative to the first quarter on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis. However, U.S. home values fell 0.2 percent relative to the second quarter a year ago. This marked the first time since the second quarter of 2009 that all Census Divisions witnessed positive changes in home values.
On August 17 we reported that TransUnion data confirmed that home mortgage delinquency rates fell for the second quarter in a row. Now, TransUnion is back to tell us that the national 60-day auto delinquency rate (the ratio of auto loan borrowers 60 or more days past due) fell 19.7 percent between the first and second quarters of 2010 to 0.53 percent, according to a quarterly analysis of trends in the auto industry. The year-over-year delinquency rate at the national level fell by 27.4 percent in the second quarter.
When wild weather strikes, many people will have fallen trees and branches on their homes and cars. The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) answers questions regarding their insurance coverage.
New car and truck registration up 12.8%.
GM retains market share lead, but Ford posts largest market share gain, passes GM and Toyota in customer loyalty.
It’s been said that the economy of the Mahoning Valley rides on the coat-tails of the auto industry, and with all the gloomy economic reports that have emerged this past month it’s comforting to note that new vehicle registrations headed in a positive direction. In the first quarter of 2010, there was a gain of nearly 300,000 units — a 12.8 percent increase over new vehicle registrations in the same quarter of 2009, according to an analysis from Experian Automotive.
No other Ohio district is rated in Academic Emergency on the 2009-2010 Local Report Card
Districts and schools throughout the state continue to make gains in student achievement as highlighted by the 2009-2010 report cards released today by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).
Negative equity, often referred to as “underwater” or “upside down,” means that borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Negative equity can occur because of a decline in value, an increase in mortgage debt or a combination of both.
Negative Equity Declines
National negative equity rates declined for the second consecutive quarter. According to the real estate and data analytics company CoreLogic, 11 million, or 23 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity at the end of the second quarter of 2010, down from 11.2 million and 24 percent from the first quarter of 2010.
Foreclosures, rather than meaningful price appreciation, were the primary driver in the change in negative equity. An additional 2.4 million borrowers had less than five percent equity. Together, negative equity and near-negative equity mortgages accounted for nearly 28 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage nationwide.
Precipitous declines in RPX transaction counts from May to June and declines in new- and existing-home sales from June to July evince weakness in housing demand at a time of year when sales typically increase in a healthy market, according to the June 2010 RPX Monthly Housing Market Report released today by Radar Logic Incorporated. The sputtering economic recovery, persistent high unemployment, widespread negative home equity and uncertainty over future home values have constrained demand for home purchases. These headwinds overwhelmed the stimulating effects of the homebuyer tax credit, without which declines in home sales during June and July would have been even worse.
Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) the week ending August 26, 2010.For yet another week, fixed-rate mortgages reached record lows, while the 5-year adjustable rate remained tied at its low for this survey.
New Rate Numbers:
The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 4.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 4.5 percent compared with the previous week.
The Refinance Index increased 5.7 percent from the previous week and is at its highest level since May 1, 2009. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 0.6 percent from one week earlier. The unadjusted Purchase Index decreased 1.1 percent compared with the previous week and was 38.8 percent lower than the same week one year ago.