Underwater Mortgages and Homeowners Florida #3

States With the Most Underwater Mortgages

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, March 15, 2012

About 22 percent of home owners nationwide are considered “underwater,” owing more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth, according to recent CoreLogic data. Some states are seeing a higher number of underwater mortgages than others too.
Many of the states with the highest number of underwater mortgages also had some of the biggest housing booms a few years ago, before prices plunged.
24/7 Wall St., in analyzing CoreLogic’s fourth quarter 2011 data, recently profiled the states with the highest number of underwater home owners.
1. Nevada
Percentage of underwater households: 61.1%
Drop in median home values since housing peak:60%
2. Arizona
Percentage of underwater households: 48.3%
Drop in median home values since housing peak: 47.9%

3. Florida
Percentage of underwater households: 44.2%
Drop in median home values since housing peak: 44.8%

4. Michigan
Percentage of underwater households: 34.7%
Drop in median home values since housing peak: 30.1%

5. Georgia
Percentage of underwater households: 33%
Drop in median home values since housing peak: 26%

Mortgage Applications Soar 7.5% on Low Rates

Daily Real Estate News | Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Record low mortgage rates are creating more demand for mortgage applications. The Mortgage Bankers Association reports in its most recent weekly mortgage market survey that loan application volume increased 7.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis compared to one week earlier.
Refinance activity was due to most of that increase last week. Applications for refinancings increased 9.4 percent compared to a week earlier, while applications for purchases only ticked up slightly at 0.1 percent.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage on conforming loans reached its lowest rate in the survey’s history last week -- falling from 4.09 percent to 4.05 percent. Freddie Mac was reporting even lower for the week ending Feb. 2, with 30-year rates averaging 3.87 percent nationwide.
Source: “Mortgage Applications Surge on Low Interest Rates,” HousingWire (Feb. 8, 2012)