It was announced Wednesday that, through the Housing Finance Agency Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets, the U.S. Treasury will make $2 billion of additional assistance available to housing finance agencies (HFAs) in 17 states and the District of Columbia to implement local programs for homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments due to unemployment.
The additional $2 billion in assistance has been earmarked for states that have experienced an unemployment rate at or above the national average for the past 12 months. Each state will use the funds for unemployment programs that provide temporary assistance to help homeowners pay their mortgage while they seek re-employment, additional employment, or undertake job training.
The states eligible to receive funds through this additional assistance include:
- Alabama – $60,672,471
- California – $476,257,070
- Florida – $238,864,755
- Georgia – $126,650,987
- Illinois – $166,352,726
- Indiana – $82,762,859
- Kentucky – $55,588,050
- Michigan – $128,461,559
- Mississippi – $38,036,950
- Nevada – $34,056,581
- New Jersey – $112,200,638
- North Carolina – $120,874,221
- Ohio – $148,728,864
- Oregon – $49,294,215
- Rhode Island – $13,570,770
- South Carolina – $58,772,347
- Tennessee – $81,128,260
- Washington, D.C. – $7,726,678
Next, RealtyTrac reported Thursday that foreclosure filings increased four percent in July – an abrupt departure from the previous three months, which saw consecutive declines in foreclosure activity.
However, even with filings on a total of 325,229 properties during the month, July’s numbers represented a 10 percent decrease compared to July 2009. One in every 397 U.S. homes received a foreclosure filing last month.
And finally, even though mortgage interest rates have been hovering at their lowest levels in decades, that’s done little to convince consumers to buy a home or refinance their mortgage to take advantage of the interest savings.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday that for the week ending August 6, 2010, mortgage loan application volume remained relatively flat from the already-depressed level of the week before.
So, how does this affect you? What does this mean to your real estate investing business? Are these facts important to your micro-economy?
Stay informed, plan ahead, protect your assets! What are you doing to prepare?
