Page 104 – Safeguard Properties

Top 10 Zips with Highest Foreclosure Rates in 2022

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 13, 2023

According to ATTOM’s just released Year-End 2022 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, foreclosure filings were reported on 324,237 U.S. properties in 2022. That figure was up 115 percent from 2021, but down 34 percent from 2019, before the pandemic. The report noted that foreclosure filings in 2022 were also down 89 percent from a peak of nearly 2.9 million in 2010.

ATTOM’s latest foreclosure activity analysis found that those 324,237 properties with foreclosure filings in 2022 represented 0.23 percent of all U.S. housing units. That figure was up slightly from 0.11 percent in 2021, but down from 0.36 percent in 2019 and down from a peak of 2.23 percent in 2010.

The report noted that states with the highest foreclosure rates in 2022 included Illinois (0.49 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); New Jersey (0.45 percent); Delaware (0.40 percent); Ohio (0.38 percent); and South Carolina (0.37 percent). Also according to the report, rounding out those top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rates in 2022, were Nevada (0.34 percent); Florida (0.33 percent); Indiana (0.30 percent); Maryland (0.27 percent); and Michigan (0.26 percent).

ATTOM’s 2022 year-end foreclosure report also found that among the 223 metro areas with a population of at least 200,000, those with the highest foreclosure rates in 2022 were Cleveland, Ohio (0.70 percent of housing units with a foreclosure filing); Jacksonville, North Carolina (0.58 percent); Atlantic City, New Jersey (0.58 percent); Columbia, South Carolina (0.55 percent); and Chicago, Illinois (0.53 percent).

The report noted that among those metro areas with a population greater than 1 million, including Cleveland, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois, those with the highest foreclosure rates in 2022, included Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (0.43 percent); Las Vegas, Nevada (0.42 percent); and Jacksonville, Florida (0.42 percent).

For full report, please click the source link above.

Serious Delinquency Rates for All Mortgage Loan Types Continue to Fall

Posted on January 24, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 18, 2023

Source: Core Logic

The nation’s overall mortgage delinquency rates have improved significantly over the last year, according to the latest CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report. Data shows the serious delinquency rate for October 2022 declined one percentage point from 12 months prior to 1.2%.[1] Compared to the peak serious delinquency rate for mortgages in August 2020, the rate in October was down three percentage points, which was mostly driven by strong labor market conditions since the U.S. economy reopened. While serious delinquencies for all types of mortgages have declined over the past two years, it is important to look at the trends by loan type as some loans are more sensitive to changes in a macroeconomic environment.

As of October 2022, the serious delinquency rates for Federal Housing Administration (FHA), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and conventional loans were 4.6%, 2.5% and 0.8%, respectively (Figure 1).[2] The serious delinquency rate decreased for all loan types in October 2022 compared with a year prior when COVID-related delinquencies spiked.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Fannie Mae Selects Five Proposals to Help Advance Racial Equity in Housing through a $5 Million Innovation Challenge

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 18, 2023

Source: Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae announced the selection of five organizations to receive deliverable-based contracts under the Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge, a nationwide competition to help advance racial equity in housing. Through the Innovation Challenge 2022 (IC22), the company sought innovative, scalable proposals to remove barriers that currently prevent many households, including Black households, from purchasing or renting a home.

The Innovation Challenge is part of Fannie Mae’s Sustainable Communities Partnership and Innovation initiative, which focuses on developing collaborative, cross-sector approaches to advancing sustainable communities and generating solutions for the nation’s most pressing housing issues. Fannie Mae solicited proposals that specifically address the insufficient supply of quality affordable housing options, insufficient funds for upfront and unexpected housing costs, and consumer credit challenges, including low credit scores and credit invisibility.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Gloversville Getting Tough on Blighted Properties

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 15, 2023

Source: leaderherald.com

In another example of the city government’s “War on Blight” policies, Gloversville is now requiring the owners of buildings destroyed from fire damage to either reimburse the city the cost for demolishing the structures or turn their ownership over to the city.

The Gloversville Common Council voted 6-0 last Tuesday to approve the city Property Disposition Committee’s recommendation to sell two properties conveyed to the city after their previous owners chose not to reimburse the city’s costs for demolishing fire damaged buildings.

“We’re trying to get very aggressive on cleaning up messes and making sure things don’t malinger,” Mayor Vince DeSantis said. “Because, not only are they a detriment to the neighborhood, but they become a dangerous thing for public safety, kids get into vacant buildings and all of that.”

For full report, please click the source link above.

PHFA Celebrates 50 Years of Creating Affordable Housing in Pennsylvania

Posted on January 20, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 13, 2023

Source: Yahoo! Finance

In 2023, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency is celebrating its fiftieth year of helping Pennsylvanians find and keep affordable, stable housing. The agency has special promotions planned throughout 2023 to recognize this landmark year and to celebrate its staff and retirees for its half century of service to Pennsylvanians.

“Our agency was started 50 years ago with eight employees and a singular focus on funding affordable rental housing,” said PHFA Executive Director and CEO Robin Wiessmann. “Today, PHFA has grown to 314 employees and proudly offers a broad range of programs intended to help renters, homebuyers and homeowners find and keep housing that best fits their needs.”

“I think the legislative leaders and Governor Milton Shapp, who had the foresight to create the agency so many years ago, would be proud of how we have fulfilled their vision for providing affordable housing opportunities in Pennsylvania.”

For full report, please click the source link above.

Freddie Mac Multifamily’s Targeted Affordable Housing Loans Increased by Nearly 60% in 2022

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 18, 2023

Source: Freddie Mac

Freddie Mac Multifamily’s 2022 production volume totaled $73.8 billion, including a record of nearly $1 billion in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) equity investments. The agency also increased its targeted affordable loan purchases for properties that have a regulatory rent restriction or subsidy by close to 60% to a record $15.3 billion in 2022, up from $9.6 billion in 2021.

“In a year marked by record rent inflation and a rental housing supply crisis, Freddie Mac Multifamily prioritized its affordable housing mission,” said Kevin Palmer, head of Freddie Mac Multifamily. “Not only did we exceed our aggressive affordable housing goals, but we also set a record for Targeted Affordable Housing, ramped up our LIHTC equity investments by 45% and made nearly $2 billion in forward commitments designed to bolster future housing supply.”

Freddie Mac exceeded all its FHFA-set affordable housing goals. Of the 693,000 rental units financed through loan purchases, more than 420,000 were affordable to low-income households earning up to 80% of Area Median Income (AMI), surpassing the 415,000-unit goal. Units affordable to very low-income households earning up to 50% of AMI totaled nearly 128,000, representing 145% of the 88,000 unit goal. Freddie Mac also met 118% of its low-income housing goal for properties with 5 to 50 units with 27,103 units.

For full report, please click the source link above.

FHFA Announces Updates to the Enterprises’ Single-Family Pricing Framework

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 19, 2023

Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced further changes to Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s (the Enterprises) single-family pricing framework by introducing redesigned and recalibrated upfront fee matrices for purchase, rate-term refinance, and cash-out refinance loans.

“These changes to upfront fees will strengthen the safety and soundness of the Enterprises by enhancing their ability to improve their capital position over time,” said Director Sandra L. Thompson. “By locking in the upfront fee eliminations announced last October, FHFA is taking another step to ensure that the Enterprises advance their mission of facilitating equitable and sustainable access to homeownership.”

The priorities outlined in the 2022 and 2023 Scorecards for the Enterprises include developing a pricing framework to maintain support for single-family purchase borrowers limited by wealth or income, while also ensuring a level playing field for large and small sellers, fostering capital accumulation, and achieving commercially viable returns on capital.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Valuation of Mortgage Servicing Rights for Managing Counterparty Credit Risk

Posted on January 19, 2023 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 12, 2023

Source: Federal Housing Finance Industry

This Advisory Bulletin communicates FHFA’s supervisory expectations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (collectively, the Enterprises or individually, an Enterprise) to establish and implement risk management policies and procedures for monitoring and valuing seller/servicers’ mortgage servicing rights (MSRs).[1],[2] Enterprise-wide risk management policies and procedures should be commensurate with an Enterprise’s risk appetite, and based on an assessment of seller/servicer financial strength and MSR risk exposure levels. Although seller/servicers assign values to their MSRs, the Enterprises should have their own processes to evaluate the reasonableness of seller/servicer MSR values.

This bulletin applies to only MSRs for single-family mortgage loans and is effective April 1, 2023.

For full report, please click the source link above.

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – Georgia Severe Weather

Posted on January 18, 2023February 13, 2023 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 16, 2023

***UPDATED 2/13/23***

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Georgia to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts in areas affected by severe weather on January 12, 2023. The following areas have been approved for assistance:

Individual Assistance:

Butts
Henry
Jasper
Meriwether
Newton
Pike
Spalding
Troup

Public Assistance:

Butts
Crisp
Henry
Jasper
Meriwether
Newton
Spalding
Troup

Georgia Severe Weather (DR-4685-GA)

President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves Major Disaster Declaration for Georgia

Map of Affected Areas

List of Affected Zip Codes

Additional Resources

FEMA’s web site

FEMA’s Disaster Declaration Process

Safeguard Properties Industry Alerts

HUD Moratorium on Foreclosure

VA’s Policy Regarding Natural Disasters

Freddie Mac Disaster Relief Policies

Fannie Mae’s Natural Disaster Relief Policies

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – Alabama Severe Storms, Straight-line Winds, and Tornadoes

Posted on January 17, 2023February 8, 2023 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 15, 2023

***UPDATED 2/3/23***

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for the state of Alabama to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts in areas affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, and tornadoes on January 12, 2023. The following areas have been approved for assistance:

Individual Assistance: