Page 36 – Safeguard Properties

Fannie and Freddie: Single Family Serious Delinquency Rate Increased Slightly, Multi-family Unchanged in December

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 30, 2024

Single-family serious delinquencies increased slightly in December, and multi-family serious delinquencies were unchanged.

Freddie Mac reported that the Single-Family serious delinquency rate in December was 0.55%, up from 0.54% November. Freddie’s rate is down year-over-year from 0.66% in December 2022. This is below the pre-pandemic lows. Freddie’s serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 4.20% following the housing bubble and peaked at 3.17% in August 2020 during the pandemic.

Fannie Mae reported that the Single-Family Serious Delinquency increased to 0.55% in December from 0.54% in November. The serious delinquency rate is down from 0.65% in December 2022. This is below the pre-pandemic lows. The Fannie Mae serious delinquency rate peaked in February 2010 at 5.59% following the housing bubble and peaked at 3.32% in August 2020 during the pandemic.

For full report, please click the source link above.

FHFA Unveils 2024 Scorecard for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Safeguard

Industry Update
February 6, 2024

Source: Dodd Frank Update

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released its 2024 Scorecard, outlining strategic objectives for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and their joint venture, Common Securitization Solutions, LLC (CSS).

FHFA Director Sandra Thompson emphasized the critical role of the annual Scorecard in guiding government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).

“The annual Scorecard requires that the Enterprises fulfill their mission in a safe and sound manner,” Thompson said in a statement. “The 2024 Scorecard focuses the Enterprises on effective risk management to ensure safety and soundness while meaningfully advancing equitable and sustainable access to homeownership and rental housing.”

Among the objectives detailed in the scorecard are those aimed at addressing multifamily rental housing needs, exploring risk mitigation strategies in the evolving single-family property insurance market and promoting efficiency in the mortgage market.

For full report, please click the source link above.

FEMA Major Disaster Declaration – New York Severe Storm and Flooding

Posted on January 31, 2024 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 30, 2024

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for areas of the state of New York to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by a severe storm and flooding from September 28-30, 2023. The following counties have been approved for assistance:

Public Assistance:

Kings
Nassau
Westchester

New York Severe Storm and Flooding (DR-4755-NY)

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 – West Virginia Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides and Mudslides

Posted on January 31, 2024March 13, 2024 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 30, 2024

***LAST UPDATED 3/13/24***

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for areas of the state of West Virginia to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides from August 28-30, 2023. The following counties have been approved for assistance:

Individual Assistance:

Boone
Calhoun
Clay
Harrison
Kanawha

Public Assistance:

Harrison
Kanawha
Roane

West Virginia Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides and Mudslides (DR-4756-WV)

Map of Affected Area

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 – Maine Severe Storms and Flooding

Posted on January 31, 2024March 19, 2024 by Safeguard

FEMA Alert
January 30, 2024

***LAST UPDATED: 3/19/24***

FEMA has issued a Major Disaster Declaration for areas of the state of Maine to supplement state, tribal and local recovery efforts in areas affected by a severe storm and flooding from December 17-21, 2023. The following counties have been approved for assistance:

Individual Assistance:

Androscoggin
Franklin
Kennebec
Oxford
Somerset

Public Assistance:

Androscoggin
Franklin
Hancock
Kennebec
Oxford
Penobscot
Piscataquis
Somerset
Waldo
Washington

Maine Severe Storms and Flooding (DR-4754-ME)

Map of Affected Area

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

ICE Report: December 2023 Delinquency Rate Hits 3.57%

Posted on January 30, 2024 by Safeguard

Industry Update
January 24, 2024

Source: National Mortgage Professional

In December 2023, the national delinquency rate experienced a slight increase, reaching 3.57%, according to the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) mortgage performance report.

This uptick of 19 basis points (bps) from November was primarily attributed to the fact that December ended on a Sunday. This unusual calendar occurrence delayed the processing of payments made on the last day of the month, impacting the delinquency rate.

While the rise in delinquencies for December 2023 of 5.6% was larger than the average December increase of 1.4%, it was still milder compared to previous December months ending on a Sunday, which typically saw delinquencies jump by an average of 9.9%.

Delinquencies showed a moderate increase across the board, driven by higher inflows and rolls to later stages of delinquency. However, there was some positive news as cures from both early- and late-stage delinquency improved.

Despite the rise in delinquencies, serious delinquencies (those 90 days or more past due) increased to 475,000. However, this figure was still 19% lower than the number reported at the end of December 2022.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Cleveland’s Crackdown on Blight Might Hit Snag with Controversial Proposal

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Safeguard

One Community Update
January 26, 2024

Source: cleveland.com

An ambitious plan aimed at improving Cleveland’s housing stock through a major overhaul of code enforcement was largely praised by City Council during its first public hearing this week.

But one part of the plan may prove to be a sticking point for council: point-of-sale inspections for vacant homes. It’s unclear whether that provision will make it into the final version of the law, or at least, in the form initially proposed by Mayor Justin Bibb.

“Without this, you’re just rolling out the red carpet to every bottom-feeding flipper and speculator,” Building and Housing Director Sally Martin-O’Toole said at the Tuesday meeting.

Such inspections are just one part of Cleveland’s proposed “Residents First” code enforcement shake-up. But it’s proving more controversial than other aspects of the plan, such as the creation of a civil-ticketing system where nuisance fines can stack up quickly for derelict landlords, and requiring hard-to-reach, out-of-state investors who own rental properties to designate a local person who would be on the hook for poor conditions.

Some City Council members helped Bibb shape the Residents First reforms, and members this week generally offered enthusiastic support for the local agent requirements, civil tickets and other proposed tools to fight blight.

But on point-of-sale (POS) inspections for vacant homes, members had lots of questions, and Council President Blaine Griffin said the only reason he was considering it was because it applied to empty homes, not occupied ones.

Even then, Griffin said he feared unintended consequences could crop up if it were enacted, but he told cleveland.com after the hearing that he hasn’t made any firm decisions about tossing it, changing it, or allowing it to move forward.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Positively St. Louis: The Land Reutilization Authority Converting Abandoned Properties to Productive Use

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Safeguard

One Community Update
January 19, 2024

Source: Yahoo! News

The Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) of the City of St. Louis is a development board staffed by the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC). The LRA is responsible for the stewardship and sale of nearly 10,000 previously abandoned buildings and property in the City of St. Louis.

When a property owner doesn’t pay property taxes and no one purchases it at a tax sale, the property ends up in the hands of the LRA. The LRA is the oldest and largest landbank in the country, and it required an intentional operational assessment to reform the LRA’s purchase programs, processes, and public communications.

That process started in February 2023 with the adoption of new sales policies to enhance economic empowerment, equitable and inclusive development, and neighborhood transformation in conjunction with the SLDC’s Economic Justice Action Plan.

Shelton Anderson is the Vice President of Real Estate for SLDC/LRA who oversees the physical and financial performance, and business strategy of SLDC’s landbank. He also leads a team of urban planners, real estate professionals, and contractors to evaluate each of the 10,000 parcels and put an action plan into place.

Anderson says, “LRA is the owner of last resort to disposition properties sale and market them for productive redevelopment in the City of St. Louis.”

The majority of the 10,000 parcels are single-family homes, all in various conditions, which include homes that are partially demolished and homes that are structurally unstable. The largest concentration is on the north side of the city.

Shelton says the plan deploys classic real estate practices, “the strategic plan for LRA, is essentially align all of those parcels with programs that are funded and activating and redeveloping each of those parcels into productive use. We are going through a process of inventory analysis, which is essentially getting a better understanding of what the best use is each of the parcels that LRA owns.”

Anderson says the LRA is facilitating the due diligence process on new development projects, identifying, and implementing ways to optimize use of properties and land, and working in partnership with facilities and management teams to develop strategies to maximize the value of the properties.

The LRA team is on a mission to add value to the St. Louis region. Anderson explains, “these matters because the redevelopment is St. Louis. Specifically redeveloping North St. Louis, which is historically the most disinvested portion of the city . It is important in collectively developing St. Louis City in its entity which will also develop St. Louis as not just a city, but the county, and being able to take the development that will expand out into impacting the region.”

For full report, please click the source link above.

How One Ohio City is Tackling Urban Blight

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Safeguard

One Community Update
January 22, 2024

Source: news.wosu.org

A decade ago, there were more than 1,500 vacant homes in the northeast Ohio city of Warren.

The area’s population fell rapidly following the industrial decline of the 1980s, leaving behind a trail of empty buildings.

But one local organization is working to address those vacancies.

The Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, the area’s community development corporation, has demolished about 1,200 vacant properties and renovated more than 600 in the past decade, according to its 2024 Parcel Inventory Update.

The organization partners with the city of Warren and Trumbull County, and it has received state and federal support to carry out this work as well.

“When we first started just two or three years after the foreclosure crisis when there was the most vacancy ever, everywhere, our focus at that time was triage,” said the organization’s executive director, Matt Martin. “Demolish what needs to be demolished, save what we can, and then figure out a land-use plan.”

Now, only about 400 vacant buildings remain in the city. But Martin says there’s a lot more work to be done.

“We’re still trying to clean up and reimagine and rightsize our community,” he said.

For full report, please click the source link above.

Affordable Housing Lot Program Faces Hurdles, Changes

Posted on January 26, 2024 by Safeguard

One Community Update
January 15, 2024

Source: stpetecatalyst.com

St. Petersburg administrators are revamping the city’s Affordable Lot Disposition Program to increase attainable homeownership opportunities and eliminate construction delays that can span nearly four years.

Beatriz Zafra, special projects coordinator, explained the initiative’s unexpected challenges and proposed solutions to city council members at a Jan. 11 committee meeting. The program began in 2018 and allows officials to convert lots obtained through foreclosure into affordable, single-family homes.

Developers have built 35 houses on the city-owned lots, and 13 are under construction. The average sales price is about $261,300, and homebuyers typically earn less than 80% of the area median income (AMI).

However, administrators have encountered unexpected challenges. City documents state that the “current process was intended to broaden the base of non-profits working in the creation of affordable housing but has unintentionally resulted in a significant disparity in productivity amongst program participants.”

“The average (construction) completion time for our top three performers is 12 months, which isn’t that far from the top performer …,” Zafra said. “But you can see the average completion time for our bottom three performers jumps up to 41.3.”

For full report, please click the source link above.