From the Florida Realtors website as of 11/18/11
The number of homeowners falling behind on their mortgage loans dropped in the third quarter. The Mortgage Bankers Association said the share of mortgage borrowers who have missed at least one payment – but are not yet in foreclosure – fell to 8 percent in the third quarter from 8.4 percent in the second quarter. The share of borrowers more than 30 days behind but less than 60 days late fell the most, to a four-year low of 3.2 percent from 3.5 percent in the second quarter.That drop suggests that fewer borrowers are falling behind for the first time, which will reduce foreclosures years from now.
“We’re moving in the right direction, but we’re still well above normal” for troubled loans, said Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s vice president of research and economics.
Single-family home building permits climbed in October to their highest level in 10 months. Single-family starts were up 3.9 percent from September. Permits, which are a better indicator of future activity, rose 5.1 percent for single-family homes and 24 percent for multifamily units, the Commerce Department said.
The October results point to a single-family market that’s “finally getting off the mat” and a multifamily segment that’s making “small strides,” said Patrick Newport, economist at IHS Global Insight.
So while we are not yet out of the woods it appears that the past two months confirm what we have seen so far this year, that we continue to move in the right direction. In my mind that is definitely very good news and while the last two months do not yet confirm a positive trend has taken hold its better then a stick in the eye. One or two more months of these positive moves and it would then appear we could say that a new trend has developed or at least a discernible bottom in housing has been made. That being the case we might even find that home price declines will start to reverse, something we would all applaud.
Nationally year over year homes sales were up a healthy 13.5%, Statewide year over year existing home and condominium sales are both up 13% & 10% respectively and in Palm Beach County total home sales were up a nice fat 27% compared to this same time last year.
Keep your fingers crossed that the markets continue to work and do so without government interference because in the end it will be the free market that get us out of the economic morass we find ourselves in.
