The deadline for servicer implementation of the administration's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program has arrived. HAFA aims to help homeowners who are unable to qualify for a loan modification by providing them with the option to pursue a short sale or deed-in-lieu. To encourage HAFA participation, the Treasury Department raised financial incentives. Borrowers are now eligible for $3,000 in relocation assistance, and servicers will receive $1,500 to cover administrative and processing costs for a short sale or deed-in-lieu completed under the program.
There is a growing consensus among lenders that home prices have stabilized, according to analysts at Barclays Capital. Research by the investment firm also indicates that loan mod efforts have risen significantly, and banks are more aggressively disposing of troubled real estate assets. Barclays' analysts sifted through the Q4 earnings transcripts for 20 regional and national banks to decipher their take on the housing market, and the conclusions point to significant improvements when it comes to real estate holdings.
With financing in the commercial real estate sector severely constricted and billions in multifamily mortgages on the verge of coming due, Freddie Mac is stepping up to the plate to ensure strapped apartment owners have an avenue to refinance their debt. The GSE has launched a new lending program that allows mezzanine debt on qualifying multifamily first mortgages. Freddie officials say the initiative will reduce the number of properties that may otherwise become defaults, drawn-out workouts, or foreclosures.
Pending home sales rose in February, potentially signaling a second surge of sales in response to the looming homebuyer tax credit deadline, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday. NAR's Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed during the month, jumped 8.2 percent in February to 97.6 from a downwardly-revised 90.2 in January. The index was also 17.3 percent above February 2009 when it was 83.2.
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