1.2 Million Borrowers Regained Equity in 2014

CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, today released new analysis showing 1.2 million borrowers regained equity in 2014, bringing the total number of mortgaged residential properties with equity at the end of Q4 2014 to approximately 44.5 million or 89 percent of all mortgaged properties. Nationwide, borrower equity increased year over year by $656 billion in Q4 2014. The CoreLogic analysis also indicates approximately 172,000 U.S. homes slipped into negative equity in the fourth quarter of 2014 from the third quarter 2014, increasing the total number of mortgaged residential properties with negative equity to 5.4 million, or 10.8 percent of all mortgaged properties. This compares to 5.2 million homes, or 10.4 percent, that were reported with negative equity in Q3 2014*, a quarter-over-quarter increase of 3.3 percent. Compared to 6.6 million homes, or 13.4 percent, reported for Q4 2013, the number of underwater homes has decreased year over year by 1.2 million or 18.9 percent.


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http://www.corelogic.com/about-us/news/corelogic-reports-1.2-million-us-borrowers-regained-equity-in-2014.aspx

Consumer Home Buying Confidence Up Ten Percent Year Over Year.

Home buying confidence and mortgage experiences in the U.S. have improved over the last year, according to TD Bank's third annual Mortgage Service Index. The survey reveals that 30 percent of Americans consider now to be a very good time to purchase a home, compared with just 20 percent in 2014, and 29 percent of consumers are likely to purchase a home this year, compared with 21 percent in 2014. The Mortgage Service Index, a national survey of more than 1,450 consumers who purchased a home within the last 10 years, examines consumers' home buying experiences and mortgage behaviors. While the number of consumers who have purchased homes within the past two years has increased by five percent since 2014, Americans still face obstacles in the home buying process. According to the Index, two in five consumers feel there is a lack of inventory in their price range and 44 percent are not familiar with home affordability programs. "The Mortgage Service Index found that only 28 percent of consumers are successfully using mortgage affordability programs, which demonstrates that a significant number of potential buyers may be missing the opportunity to purchase a home," said Malcolm Hollensteiner, Director of Retail Lending Sales and Production, TD Bank. "In our current housing market, a critical first step for buyers is to educate themselves on the financing process by speaking with multiple lenders and learning about the loan options available to them. Lenders today should be working with borrowers on a case-by-case basis in order to find the loan option that best meets their needs and budget."

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http://www.syracuse.com/business/prnewswire/index.ssf/%3CA%20HREF=?/ny1/story/?catSetID=7002&catID=&nrid=295741181&page=134