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HUD February Housing Scorecard

On March 7, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released an update titled Obama Administration Releases February Housing Scorecard.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION RELEASES FEBRUARY HOUSING SCORECARD

Housing Market Continues To Show Signs of Improvement

WASHINGTON- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury today released the February edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard – a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest data show progress among key indicators. This scorecard notes that purchases of new homes rose, foreclosure completions continued their downward trend, and house prices were stable. While there are positive trends in the housing market, officials caution that the economy is still healing from the Great Recession. The full Housing Scorecard is available online at www.hud.gov/scorecard.

“February’s Housing Scorecard continues to show that the Obama Administration’s efforts to stabilize the housing market and provide relief to struggling homeowners are having a positive effect,” said HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic Affairs Kurt Usowski. “For example, at the national level, the Federal Reserve Board announced yesterday that homeowners’ equity jumped over $400 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013, reaching over $10 trillion for the first time since 2007.  At the local level, HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which helps communities address foreclosed and abandoned homes, has now completed or rehabilitated 32,000 units and provided direct assistance to 10,800 homeowners.  However, this encouraging news does not detract from the need to build on this progress as too many homeowners remain underwater and mortgage delinquency rates remain elevated.”

“The standards set by the Making Home Affordable (MHA) program and our quarterly servicer assessments have positively impacted the mortgage servicing industry,” said Treasury Acting Assistant Secretary Tim Bowler. “While the housing market as a whole has made significant progress, servicers still have room for improvement and Treasury will continue to press the industry to improve servicer performance. January’s MHA report shows that homeowners currently in the Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP) have saved a total estimated $25.5 billion to date in monthly mortgage payments.”

Since the beginning of the Making Home Affordable Program, Treasury has required participating servicers to take specific actions to improve their processes through ongoing program reviews. The quarterly Servicer Assessments summarize performance in three categories of program implementation: identifying and contacting homeowners; homeowner evaluation and assistance; and program management and reporting.

For the fourth quarter of 2013, one servicer was found to need minor improvement, the rest were found to need moderate improvement. On average, servicer performance has improved since the inception of the Servicer Assessment reports.

The February Housing Scorecard features key data on the health of the housing market and the impact of the Administration’s foreclosure prevention programs, including:

  • Homeowners’ Equity Continues to Rise. According to the Federal Reserve, homeowners’ equity is up nearly $412 billion, or 4.3 percent, in the fourth quarter of 2013, reaching $10.026 trillion—the highest level since the fourth quarter of 2007.  Homeowners’ equity has risen sharply since the beginning of 2012, with equity up 60 percent, or more than $3.7 trillion, during this period.
  • New Home Purchases Increased. After declining for the last two months, purchases of new homes rose 9.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 468,000 (SAAR) in January–the highest unit-pace since mid-2008 and 2.2 percent above sales in January 2013. (Source: HUD and Census Bureau).
  • The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) continues to help communities across all 50 states address foreclosed and abandoned homes. During the fourth quarter of 2013, grantees report cumulative completions of newly constructed or rehabilitated housing units under NSP topping 32,000 units, while direct assistance to homeowners reached the 10,800 mark, signaling strong progress toward achieving projected activity under the NSP1, NSP2, and NSP3 programs.
  • HARP has helped 3 million underwater homeowners. As of November 2013, FHFA reports the HARP program reached a significant milestone by helping more than 3 million underwater homeowners refinance their homes. Refinance volume has continued to decrease, however, as mortgage rates rise.
  • The Administration’s foreclosure mitigation programs continue to provide relief for millions of homeowners. Over 1.9 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place through the Making Home Affordable Program, including more than 1.3 million permanent modifications through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), while the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has offered nearly 2.2 million loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions through January. The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved standards and processes in the industry, with HOPE Now lenders offering families and individuals nearly 4.0 million proprietary modifications through December (data are reported with a two month lag). In all, more than 8.1 million mortgage modification and other forms of mortgage assistance arrangements were completed between April 2009 and the end of January 2014.
  • HAMP Continues Helping Homeowners. Homeowners currently in HAMP permanent modifications with some form of principal reduction have been granted an estimated $13.3 billion in principal reduction. Of all non-Government Sponsored Enterprise (GSE) loans eligible for principal reduction entering HAMP in January, 64 percent included a principal reduction feature.


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HUD’s mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality
affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to
bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable
rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build
inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform
the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is
available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov.
You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDGov, on facebook at
www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD’s Email List.

Please click here to view the online update.

 

 

About Safeguard 
Safeguard Properties is the largest mortgage field services company in the U.S. Founded in 1990 by Robert Klein and based in Valley View, Ohio, the company inspects and maintains defaulted and foreclosed properties for mortgage servicers, lenders, and other financial institutions. Safeguard employs approximately 1,700 people, in addition to a network of thousands of contractors nationally. Website: www.safeguardproperties.com.

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CEO

Alan Jaffa

Alan Jaffa is the Chief Executive Officer for Safeguard Properties, steering the company as the mortgage field services industry leader. He also serves on the board of advisors for SCG Partners, a middle-market private equity fund focused on diversifying and expanding Safeguard Properties’ business model into complimentary markets.

Alan joined Safeguard in 1995, learning the business from the ground up. He was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2002, and was named CEO in May 2010. His hands-on experience has given him unique insights as a leader to innovate, improve and strengthen Safeguard’s processes to assure that the company adheres to the highest standards of quality and customer service.

Under Alan’s leadership, Safeguard has grown significantly with strategies that have included new and expanded services, technology investments that deliver higher quality and greater efficiency to clients, and strategic acquisitions. He takes a team approach to process improvement, involving staff at all levels of the organization to address issues, brainstorm solutions, and identify new and better ways to serve clients.

In 2008, Alan was recognized by Crain’s Cleveland Business in its annual “40-Under-40” profile of young leaders. He also was named a NEO Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award finalist in 2013.

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Esq., General Counsel and EVP

Linda Erkkila

Linda Erkkila is the General Counsel and Executive Vice President for Safeguard Properties, with oversight of legal, human resources, training, and compliance. Linda’s broad scope of oversight covers regulatory issues that impact Safeguard’s operations, risk mitigation, strategic planning, human resources and training initiatives, compliance, insurance, litigation and claims management, and counsel related to mergers, acquisition and joint ventures.

Linda assures that Safeguard’s strategic initiatives align with its resources, leverage opportunities across the company, and contemplate compliance mandates. She has practiced law for 25 years and her experience, both as outside and in-house counsel, covers a wide range of corporate matters, including regulatory disclosure, corporate governance compliance, risk assessment, compensation and benefits, litigation management, and mergers and acquisitions.

Linda earned her JD at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. She holds a degree in economics from Miami University and an MBA. Linda was previously named as both a “Woman of Influence” by HousingWire and as a “Leading Lady” by MReport.

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COO

Michael Greenbaum

Michael Greenbaum is the Chief Operating Officer of Safeguard Properties, where he has played a pivotal role since joining the company in July 2010. Initially brought on as Vice President of REO, Mike’s exceptional leadership and strategic vision quickly propelled him to Vice President of Operations in 2013, and ultimately to COO in 2015. Over his 14-year tenure at Safeguard, Mike has been instrumental in driving change and fostering innovation within the Property Preservation sector, consistently delivering excellence and becoming a trusted partner to clients and investors.

A distinguished graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Mike earned a degree in Quantitative Economics. Following his graduation, he served in the U.S. Army’s Ordnance Branch, where he specialized in supply chain management. Before his tenure at Safeguard, Mike honed his expertise by managing global supply chains for 13 years, leveraging his military and civilian experience to lead with precision and efficacy.

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CFO

Joe Iafigliola

Joe Iafigliola is the Chief Financial Officer for Safeguard Properties. Joe is responsible for the Control, Quality Assurance, Business Development, Marketing, Accounting, and Information Security departments. At the core of his responsibilities is the drive to ensure that Safeguard’s focus remains rooted in Customer Service = Resolution. Through his executive leadership role, he actively supports SGPNOW.com, an on-demand service geared towards real estate and property management professionals as well as individual home owners in need of inspection and property preservation services. Joe is also an integral force behind Compliance Connections, a branch of Safeguard Properties that allows code enforcement professionals to report violations at properties that can then be addressed by the Safeguard vendor network. Compliance Connections also researches and shares vacant property ordinance information with Safeguard clients.

Joe has an MBA from The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), and holds a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University’s Honors Accounting program.

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Business Development

Carrie Tackett

Business Development Safeguard Properties