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Both the House and Senate passed H.R. 3221, Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, a comprehensive piece of legislation that addresses a variety of housing related issues. The bill contains a provision (SEC. 2113) that forbids FHA from insuring mortgages in which the borrower’s downpayment comes from a private downpayment assistance provider, beginning October 1, 2008. As of this date, the minimum downpayment will be increased from 3% to 3.5%.

The bill was signed into law by the President July 30, 2008.  With the stroke of the President’s pen, downpayment assistance was shut down in the United States effective October 1, 2008.

Other Downpayment Assistance Programs (DPA) are still open, including employer assisted downpayment. Only DPA programs where the Seller had a vested interest in the sale were closed.

During its existence The Nehemiah Corporation of America, a national non-profit organization, has helped over 300,000 families who would have otherwise been locked out of homeownership due to lack of downpayment funds.

SOURCE: National Association of REALTORS

Both the House and Senate passed H.R. 3221, Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, a comprehensive piece of legislation that addresses a variety of housing related issues. The bill contains a provision (SEC. 2113) that forbids FHA from insuring mortgages in which the borrower’s downpayment comes from a private downpayment assistance provider, beginning October 1, 2008. As of this date, the minimum downpayment will be increased from 3% to 3.5%.

The dowmpayment programs have helped 50,000 home buyers per month.

The bill was signed into law by the President July 30, 2008.  With the stroke of the President’s pen, downpayment assistance was shut down in the United States effective October 1, 2008.

Other Downpayment Assistance Programs (DPA) are still open, including employer assisted downpayment. Only DPA programs where the Seller had a vested interest in the sale were closed.

During its existence The Nehemiah Corporation of America, a national non-profit organization, has helped over 300,000 families who would have otherwise been locked out of homeownership due to lack of downpayment funds.

SOURCE: National Association of REALTORS

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Single Family Listings   MLS # Status  Address Town Description DOM List Price 70793429 ACT 46 Washburn St Springfield, MA  7 room, 4 bed, 1 bath Colonial 415 $16,500     Single Family Listings: 1       Average List Price: $16,500     Average Market Time: 415.00

Condominium Listings   MLS # Status  Address Town Description DOM List Price 70794002 ACT 121 Merrifield St U:1 Worcester, MA  5 room, 3 bed, 1 bath 2/3 Family 27 $9,900   70784138 ACT 26 Edgeworth St U:2 Worcester, MA  5 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 Family 48 $14,500   70777619 ACT 500 Moody Street U:1C Lowell, MA  4 room, 2 bed, 1 bath Gardenx2  62 $14,900   70787308 PCG 5 Forbes St U:1 Worcester, MA  6 room, 3 bed, 1 bath 2/3 Familyx4  203 $14,900   70729881 EXT 500 Moody St U:3B Lowell, MA  5 room, 3 bed, 1 bath Mid-Risex6  65 $15,900   70758914 ACT 91 Summer St U:8 Lawrence, MA  2 room, 1 bed, 1 bath Gardenx5  97 $16,900   70798686 PCG 53 Seymour Street U:1 Worcester, MA  5 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 Family 296 $17,900   70799162 ACT 70 Rodney St U:4 Worcester, MA  4 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 Family 108 $18,500   70798499 ACT 218 Vernon St U:1 Worcester, MA  5 room, 3 bed, 1 bath 2/3 Familyx3  178 $18,900   70762859 ACT 2 Pelham St U:1 Worcester, MA  6 room, 3 bed, 1 bath 2/3 Familyx10  90 $18,900   70784850 ACT 64 Ward St U:2 Worcester, MA  4 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 Family 47 $18,900   70770208 ACT 17 Clifton St U:2 Worcester, MA  5 room, 2 bed, 1 bath 2/3 Family 327 $19,900   70803167 ACT 37 Winfield St. U:2 Worcester, MA  6 room, 4 bed, 1 bath Garden 206 $19,900   70752447 ACT 64 Ward U:3 Worcester, MA  5 room, 3 bed, 1 bath Garden 164 $20,000     Condominium Listings: 14       Average List Price: $17,136     Average Market Time: 137.00

Multi-Family Listings   MLS # Status  Address Town Description DOM List Price 70788413 ACT 10 Herbert St Salem, MA  1 unit, 4 total room, 2 total bedroom 2 Familyx8  61 $1,000     Multi-Family Listings: 1       Average List Price: $1,000     Average Market Time: 61.00

Agents' role in home selection diminishes
The role of real estate agents in identifying for-sale homes for buyers has diminished with the rise in online home searches, according to an analysis by ForSaleByOwner.com that is based on National Association of Realtors survey data. While real estate agents still play a major role in identifying homes that buyers eventually purchase -- with 34 percent of buyers in 2007 reporting that they first learned about the home they purchased from an agent -- that share has dropped from 50 percent in 1997.

Meanwhile, the share of buyers who first found the home they purchased on the Internet grew from 2 percent in 1997 to 29 percent in 2007. Yard signs are still a major source for luring prospective buyers -- and 14 percent of buyers in 2007 reported that they first found the home they purchased from a yard sign, compared with 17 percent in 1997. ForSaleByOwner.com, which is owned by media giant Tribune Co., offers Internet marketing services and other tools to assist home sellers in selling their homes without an agent.

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Real estate brokerage and franchise company Realogy Corp. on Wednesday reported a net loss of $27 million in the second quarter, with a 21 percent year-over-year decline in home-sale transaction sides within its franchise unit and a 19 percent decline at company-owned offices.

The average home-sale price fell 5 percent within Realogy's franchise group and dropped 8 percent among company-owned offices during the second quarter compared to the same quarter last year, the company reported.

"In the midst of a very difficult housing market, Realogy remains focused on increasing productivity and reducing our operating costs to enhance our ability to manage through this protracted downturn and, ultimately, be well-position to capitalize on the real estate market when it recovers," said Richard A. Smith, Realogy's president and CEO, in an earnings announcement. The company last month launched an additional franchise brand, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate -- other Realogy brands include Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA and Sotheby's International Realty, among others.

Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Almost one-third of U.S. homeowners who bought in the last five years now owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, according to Zillow.com, an Internet provider of home valuations.

Second-quarter home prices fell 9.9 percent from a year earlier, giving 29 percent of owners negative equity, said Zillow, the Seattle-based service that offers values for more than 80 million homes. For those who bought at the 2006 peak of the housing market, 45 percent are now underwater, Zillow said.

Negative equity and declining prices are making it difficult for homeowners to sell property for a profit. Almost one-quarter of U.S. homes sold in the past year were for a loss, Zillow said. That contributes to the foreclosure rate because some homeowners can't absorb the loss and end up surrendering their homes to the bank that holds the mortgage, said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics.

``For homeowners who need to sell, this is a gravely serious situation,'' Humphries said in an interview. ``It can also be harmful to communities where the number of unsold homes adds more to inventory and puts downward pressure on prices.''

The highest percentages of homeowners with negative equity were located in California. In four of the state's metropolitan areas -- Stockton, Modesto, Merced and Vallejo-Fairfield -- the number of homeowners whose mortgage debts exceeded the values of their properties topped 90 percent, Zillow said.

In five more California areas -- the Inland Empire (Riverside-San Bernardino), Bakersfield, Yuba City, El Centro and Madera -- the percentages were more than 80 percent.

Foreclosure Sales

In Stockton and Modesto, more than half the sales in the second quarter were of foreclosed homes, Zillow said. Almost 15 percent of sales nationwide were foreclosures, the company said.

Prices fell on a year-over-year basis in 140 out of 165 markets, Zillow said. Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City and Austin, Texas, were among the markets that saw rising home values, the company said.

The 9.9 percent decline in home values was the largest on a year-over-year basis in at least 12 years, Zillow said. The median home price of $206,919 was the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2004, the company said.

``Sellers are starting to adjust their expectations,'' Zillow Chief Financial Officer Spencer Rascoff said in a Bloomberg TV interview. ``More sellers accepting a loss is actually a sign of optimism. It means that the transactions might start happening. There are so many sales contingent upon the buyer selling their home.''

The Zillow Home Value Index is the median valuation for a given geographic area on a given day and includes the value of all single-family residences, condominiums and cooperatives, regardless of whether they sold within a given period, the company said. The index at the national and metropolitan area levels is calculated using a weighted average of the median home value for each county, Zillow said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Ivry in New York at

Return of the "F" word...

RealtyTrac®, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its July 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 272,171 U.S. properties during the month, an 8 percent increase from the previous month and a 55 percent increase from July 2007. The report also shows one in every 464 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.

“Bank repossessions, or REOs, continued to be the fastest growing segment of foreclosure activity in July, posting a 184 percent year-over-year increase — compared to a 53 percent year-over-year increase in default notices and an 11 percent year-over-year increase in auction notices,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The sharp rise in REOs, combined with slow sales, has resulted in a bloated inventory of bank-owned properties for sale. RealtyTrac now has more than three quarters of a million properties in its active REO database, a number that represents approximately 17 percent of the inventory of existing homes for sale reported in June by the National Association of Realtors.”

Nevada, California, Florida post top state foreclosure rates
Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in July, with one in every 106 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month. Foreclosure activity in Nevada was up 15 percent from the previous month and 97 percent from July 2007, pushing the total number of properties with foreclosure filings to over 10,000. Bank repossessions in Nevada were up 384 percent on a year-over-year basis, while default notices were up 59 percent and auction notices were up 31 percent.

One in every 182 California properties received a foreclosure filing in July, the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate, while one in every 186 Florida properties received a foreclosure filing, the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate.

Despite increasing foreclosure activity, Arizona’s foreclosure rate dropped from the nation’s third highest in June to fourth highest in July. Foreclosure filings were reported on 13,350 Arizona properties during the month, a 3 percent increase from the previous month and a 127 percent increase from July 2007. One in every 195 Arizona properties received a foreclosure filing, a rate that was more than twice the national average.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 were Ohio, Georgia, Michigan, Colorado, Utah and Virginia.

California, Florida, Ohio report highest foreclosure totals
Foreclosure filings were reported on 72,285 California properties in July, the highest total among the states. The state’s foreclosure activity increased 5 percent from the previous month and was up 85 percent from July 2007. On a year-over-year basis, bank repossessions in California were up 427 percent, while auction notices were up 67 percent and default notices were up 34 percent. However, default notices declined 4 percent from the previous month.

Florida foreclosure activity in July increased 14 percent from the previous month and 139 percent from July 2007. The state posted the nation’s second highest number of properties with filings — 45,884. On a year-over-year basis, bank repossessions in Florida increased 678 percent, while auction notices were up 180 percent and default notices were up 100 percent.

Ohio’s total of 13,457 properties with foreclosure filings in July was third highest among the states despite an increase of just 2 percent from the previous month and 1 percent from July 2007. On a year-over-year basis, bank repossessions in Ohio were still up 33 percent, while auction notices were down nearly 20 percent and default notices were up nearly 8 percent. One in every 375 Ohio households received a foreclosure filing during the month, the nation’s fifth highest state foreclosure rate.

After Arizona, Michigan documented the fifth highest state total in July — 11,591 properties with filings — but the state’s foreclosure activity decreased 4 percent from the previous month and 17 percent from July 2007. The state’s foreclosure rate — one in every 389 households received a foreclosure filing — ranked seventh highest among the states.

Other states with total properties with foreclosure filings among the 10 highest were Texas, Georgia, Nevada, Illinois and New York.

Top Metro Rates in California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., metro area registered the highest foreclosure rate among the 230 metro areas tracked in the July report. One in every 64 households in the metro area received a foreclosure filing during the month — more than seven times the national average.

Three California cities followed in the metro foreclosure rate rankings: Merced was at No. 2 with one in every 73 households receiving a foreclosure filing; and Stockton and Modesto were in a virtual tie, each with one in every 82 households receiving a foreclosure filing.

With one in every 85 households receiving a foreclosure filing, the Las Vegas metro area’s foreclosure rate ranked No. 5, followed by three more California metros: Riverside-San Bernardino, Bakersfield and Vallejo-Fairfield.

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., documented the ninth highest metro foreclosure rate, and the foreclosure rate in Phoenix took the No. 10 spot.