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A new report suggests that many of today’s homeowners are doing better with their mortgage expenses.According to Lender Processing Services, the total U.S. loan delinquency rate fell (http://www NULL.prnewswire NULL.com/news-releases/lps-first-look-mortgage-report-january-month-end-data-shows-declines-in-delinquencies-foreclosures-193822361 NULL.html)to 7 percent in January, down from 9 percent in December and from 8.3 percent during the same month in 2012. The delinquency rate refers to home loans where the payment is more than 30 days past due and the property is not in foreclosure.From a standpoint of raw numbers, approximately 3.5 million properties are delinquent by one month or more, with 1.5 million properties whose homeowners are in arrears by 90 days or more.Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada and New York, have the highest rate of loans that are non-current, while Montana, Alaska, Wyoming, South Dakota and North Dakota has the lowest percentage, according to LPS.Were metropolitan areas detailed in LPS’ analysis, the Houston real estate (http://www NULL.2mrealty NULL.com/) picture may have been on the latter list. Delinquencies were fairly infrequent in January for Houston homeowners, evidenced by a 12 percent decline in foreclosure property sales. The average price of a foreclosed home in Houston in January was $81,074.
Real Estate News brought to you by 2M Realty (http://www NULL.2mrealty NULL.com/news/), a true expert in the online real estate market.

While property inventory has been in low territory for awhile, housing experts are confident that the number of houses listed as for sale will make a comeback in the not-too-distant future.According to real estate property listing website Zillow, the number of homes up for sale (http://zillow NULL.mediaroom NULL.com/index NULL.php?s=159&item=340) in February fell nearly 17 percent in the month when contrasted with the same period last year. There were only five metro areas of the 99 largest areas tracked by the website where inventory levels increased, led by El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico.However, Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow, noted that this supply is bound to increase.”Over the past year, inventory tightness has contributed to increases in home values in many markets,” said Humphries. “As home values rise, some homeowners will be freed from negative equity and able to list their homes, which will contribute to an easing of the inventory crunch.”The Houston real estate (http://www NULL.2mrealty NULL.com/) market is one of the areas in which home values have tracked northward. This shouldn’t affect affordability, though. Raj Dosaj, vice president of the behavioral library and home price index at LPS Applied Analytics, recently said as much (http://www NULL.housingwire NULL.com/news/2013/02/28/lps-home-prices-could-skyrocket-35-without-affecting-affordability#) during a webinar hosted by HousingWire.
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Immigrants who live in Texas may soon have a lot of influence on how active the home buying market is not only in the Lone Star State, but the entire country.According to a recent report (http://www NULL.housingamerica NULL.org/Publications/ImmigrantContributionstoHousingDemandintheUnitedStates:AComparisonofRecentDecadesandProjectionsto2020fortheStatesandNation NULL.htm)issued by the Research Institute for Housing America, which is affiliated with the Mortgage Bankers Association, immigrant homeowners represent an increasingly large percentage of homeowners in the U.S., totaling 800,000 in 1990, approximately 2.1 million in 2000 and an estimated 2.4 million as of 2010.And over the next decade, that total could reach nearly 3 million.In fact, the report indicates that by 2020, immigrants who relocate to the United States will make up roughly one in every three new households and slightly more than one in every four renter households.John Pitkin, senior research associate for the Population Dynamics Research Group at the University of Southern California, noted that this is a natural result of the immigrant population steadily increasing.”Rising numbers of foreign-born households are driven by the continued increases in homeownership rates achieved as immigrants settle longer in the United States,” said Pitkin.Many Houston homes (http://www NULL.2mrealty NULL.com/areahomes NULL.php) are already well represented by foreign-born citizens. According to the Immigration Policy Center, 4.1 million immigrants live in the Lone Star State, a third of whom are naturalized.
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When it comes to deciding where to buy a house, a key selling point is its proximity to the office or workplace in general, a new study indicates.According to a recent biennial survey (http://www NULL.nahb NULL.org/news_details NULL.aspx?newsID=15813) conducted by the National Association of Realtors, roughly one-third of respondents indicated that how close their home was to their place of employment was the most significant factor they took into consideration before settling on a place in which to live.David Crowe, chief economist at NAHB, indicated that in addition to proximity to work, home prices were also a major issue buyers weighed before reaching a conclusion on the best place to relocate to.He added that thanks to the improved housing marketplace, prospective homeowners have an abundance of places they can choose from.”The housing market is strengthening in most areas of the country, and home builders are eager to help buyers achieve or further their homeownership goals,” said Crowe.Houston homes (http://www NULL.2mrealty NULL.com/areahomes NULL.php) are ideal for people who drive to work. According to the Department of Transportation, there are about 9.5 miles worth of road for every 10,000 people, making Houston one of the best places for individuals looking to get to the jobsite via an alternative route.
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The people who may have seemed like children and students a short time ago are today and tomorrow’s homeowners, a new study points out.According to a recent study conducted (http://bipartisanpolicy NULL.org/sites/default/files/BPC%20Demographics%20One-Pager NULL.pdf) by the Bipartisan Policy Center, between now and 2020, the overwhelming majority of homeowners in the country will be among individuals who represent Generation Y, also known as echo boomers, born between the 1980s and early 2000s.The report says that more recently, the recession had hit this generation hard, preventing many people from attaining homeownership due to struggles finding a job, among other factors. However, with the baby boomer generation getting older, which has freed up living space, and the economy steadily gaining ground, echo boomers will account for between 75 and 80 percent of owner-occupied housing within the next decade.The Houston real estate (http://www NULL.2mrealty NULL.com/) market has more than enough residences to accommodate. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, housing unit development in the Lone Star State jumped 22 percent from 2000 to 2010. Other states where housing inventory has increased noticeably include Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Georgia and Florida.
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A new study (http://www NULL.housingwire NULL.com/sites/default/files/editorial/DoForeclosuresCauseCrime%281%29 NULL.pdf)suggests that foreclosures may be associated with the prevalence of crime in a given metropolitan area.The study – “Do Foreclosures Cause Crime?” – was conducted by researchers from the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy at New York University. Based on the analysts’ data, which was entirely derived from New York, they found that there was a correlation between foreclosures and the level of crime. For instance, based on data from the final quarter of 2010, foreclosure starts may be linked to a seven-tenths of a percent increase in overall crime, 1.5 percent rise in violent crime and 1.3 percent increase in total crime after a foreclosure auction.”Our findings show that multiple foreclosures on a single blockface lead to an increase in violent and public-order crime, particularly in areas that have moderate to high existing crime rates,” the study says. “These findings warrant attention from government and community groups working in communities hard hit by the foreclosure crisis.”Whether these findings are true or not is up for debate. But what can’t be denied is the favorable conditions in Houston real estate (http://www NULL.2mrealty NULL.com/). The city’s foreclosure inventory has recently diminished and violent crime has dipped to its lowest levels in more than a decade.
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