WASHINGTON POST: As the labor market improved, the number of homeowners who fell behind on their mortgage payments dropped in the final three months of last year to the lowest level since 2008, according to a national survey released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association…
The data offer a mixed view of the housing market’s prospects for recovery any time soon. While delinquency rates have improved across all types of home loans, a swelling supply of low-priced, foreclosed properties suggests that home values could keep eroding and further undermine the ailing housing sector.
“We have to clear out those distressed properties before we can talk about any kind of housing market recovery,” said Guy Cecala, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. “There are signs of improvement, but I think it’s a little early to break out the champagne.”… (more)
