Sacramento Real Estate Blogging

The besieged housing market has even further to fall before home prices really hit rock bottom.

According to Fiserv, a financial analytics company, home values are expected to fall another 3.6% by next June, pushing them to a new low of 35% below the peak reached in early 2006 and marking a triple dip in prices.

Should home values meet Fiserv’s expectations, it would make it the third (and lowest) trough for home prices since the housing bubble burst.Several factors will be working against the housing market in the upcoming months, including an increase in foreclosure activity and sustained high unemployment, explained David Stiff, Fiserv’s chief economist.

The first post-bubble bottom was hit in 2009, when prices fell to 31% below peak. The First-Time Homebuyer Credit helped perk prices up by mid-2010, but by the time the credit expired, prices fell again.

In the second dip, which was reached last winter, prices were down 33%before staging a mild rally that was artificially spurred as banks slowed the processing of foreclosures following the robo-signing scandal, which found that loan servicers were rapidly signing foreclosures without properly vetting them.

Now that the scandal is mostly resolved, lenders are speeding more cases through the foreclosure pipeline and back onto the market, weighing on home prices even further.

Earlier this month, RealtyTrac reported the first quarterly increase in foreclosure filings in three quarters. Even more discouraging: new default notices were up 14%.

There’s also a “shadow inventory” of homes in foreclosure that have yet to go back onto the market.

The specter that those foreclosed homes could flood the market at any time and drive prices significantly lower is a huge concern, said Mark Dotzour, an economist for Texas A&M University. “That’s the elephant in the room,” he said, noting that there are 6 million home currently in shadow inventory.

Biggest Losers

Many of the regions that will be hardest hit were already beaten up during the previous two dips.

Naples, Fla., for example, is expected to take the biggest hit of any metro area, a price drop of another 18.9% by the end of next June, according to Fiserv. Home prices in the area have already fallen 61% from the peak.

Other cities expected to be hit hard include the not-so-lucky Las Vegas, which is expected to see home prices fall another 15.9% for a total loss of 66%; Riverside, Calif., is projected to fall another 14.8% (for a total decline of 61%); Miami is expected to decline by 13.2% (total loss: 57%), and Salinas, Calif. could drop by another 13% (for a total loss of 66%).

There will be some winners, however, led by Madera, Calif. and Carson City, Nev., which will each gain 15.5%. That’s some consolation for hard-hit residents: The average home in each of these metro areas has lost more than half its value.

Other metro areas Fiserv expects to recover nicely are Yuma, Ariz. (up 9.5%), Yuba City, Calif. (9.2%) and Farmington, N.M. (8.3%).

Slow Recovery Ahead

Even after the housing market begins its comeback in mid-2012, the recovery is predicted to be modest at best. Nationwide, Fiserv is projecting that home prices will climb just 2.4% between June 2012 and June 2013.

A few individual metro areas will do better, with 31 of the 385 markets Fiserv monitors expected to pile up double-digit gains. Another 71 markets are expected to post increases of 5% or better.

Many of the markets that will record the biggest increases are vacation or retirement communities that had taken some of the biggest hits during the bust.

The biggest “winner” will be Ocala, Fla., with a 22.4% spike for the 12 months ending June 30, 2013. Ocala was one of the hardest hit communities in the U.S. over the past several years, with home prices falling some 50%.

Others anticipated gainers will be Napa, Calif., which Fiserv projects will improve by 20.9% over that same period; Panama City, Fla. (an estimated 18.2% jump) and Bremerton, Wash. and Carson City, Nev. (both expected to see home prices climb 17.9%).

Some cities will continue to fade, however. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.’s forecast is for a 9.2% drop through next June and another 6.7% the 12 months after that. Its neighbor, Miami, will endure 13.5% and 5.2% declines, respectively.

Original Article Courtesy Yahoo Finance

We would like to take a few seconds to recognize Sierra Shadows Dental of Rocklin, CA. I know this is not real estate related but Sacramentorealestateblogging.com likes to identify and support local businesses where possible. Sometimes we deliver local Sacramento news in addition to blistering real estate and mortgage commentary

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming…

Update 11/2/2011- Unfortunately, it looks as though US Loan Auditors wasn’t exactly top of the line. They were the target of a $60 million dollar lawsuit as well as an injunction by CA Attorney General. I believe the State actually shut their doors.

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Original Article

A little local news for you this time. US Loan Auditors is a forensic loan auditing company based in Rancho Cordova CA. There has been some negative press for loan audit companies recently and I have to give these guys props for directly confronting the issues in their industry. Loan Audits may not be right for everyone, but it seems that US Loan auditors trying to do right. They even made it on the KCRA 3 news, being highlighted as a reputable and legitimate company by the media.

US Loan Auditors Applauds California Attorney General

Jerry Brown’s Crack Down on Phony Loan Audit Scammers

Scam Artists Request Upfront Fees, Property Title Transfers and Escrowed Mortgage Payments

SACRAMENTO – February 25, 2010 – US Loan Auditors announced today that they are endorsing California Attorney General Jerry Brown’s crack down on “phony loan audits” and “loan modification” scam artists by warning California families that scammers are out to steal their hard earned homes and money.

“It is a shame that people would setup a storefront and call themselves a foreclosure relief agency just to steal from local families,” said Shane Barker, one of the founders of US Loan Auditors. “It is absolutely critical that consumers do their research into the company they are working with and extensively check references before assuming a firm has experts. We have never done, and will never do loan modifications. Our audits are specially designed for attorneys to take right into court.”

US Loan Auditors is not a loan modification firm, but instead is specialized in using the science of forensic loan auditing to help victims of predatory lending, and their legal counsel, uncover violations during the loan documentation or loan origination process. Customers can rest assured that the principals of the firm have extensive mortgage industry experience and the company backs up its expertise by offering a free upfront consultation for their forensic audit services.

“Our audits are not performed with a loan modification in mind,” Barker said. “We do the forensic loan audit to help give homeowners the leverage they need in court, not for a loan modification. Beware of companies promising big results after illegally collecting a large upfront fee.”

Along with a large upfront fee, scam artists may request the transfer of the title of the house to the “rescue” firm; making the mortgage payments to the scammer instead of the lender; and even prey on people that sign paperwork without carefully reading the documents or having an attorney review them.

“Unfortunately, some people are becoming victims twice,” Barker said. “Please be aware of the warning signs of a scam artist and take steps to protect yourself, your home and your family from further risk.”

An estimated 80 percent of the homeowners with one or more of the following; adjustable loans, pick a payment or option ARMs, non speaking or limited English speaking, or stated loan transactions, may have been victims of predatory lending.

www.usloanauditors.com