The Bani Group Inc.

Obama administration releases September housing scorecard:

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently released the September edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard, which continues to show signs that the housing market is strengthening.  Home equity has increased by $860 billion since the end of 2011, and August had the highest level of existing home sales in more than two years – although officials caution that the overall recovery remains fragile. 

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

• Rising home values have brought homeowner equity to its highest level since the third quarter of 2008 and helped lift 1.3 million families above water. Homeowner equity jumped $406 billion, or 5.9 percent, to $7,275 billion in the second quarter of 2012.  After a sharp first quarter rise, total equity has grown to $863 billion, or 13.5 percent, since the end of 2011. The number of underwater borrowers has declined by 11 percent since the end of last year, from 12.1 million in the 4th quarter of 2011 to 10.8 million in the second quarter of 2012.
• Nearly 1.3 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place through the Making Home Affordable Program, while the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has offered more than 1.4 million loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions.

As of August, more than one million homeowners have received a permanent HAMP modification, saving approximately $539 on their mortgage payments each month and an estimated $15 billion to date.