Recent Decrease in The Number of Homes Underwater

The prices of homes are on an incline. This is great news for home owners, as the housing market bounces back after a downward spiral.  This information was provided by the Obama Housing Scorecard, released each month by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

What's your home worth today? Probably more than you think!  

An August report revealed that home prices are making solid gains. Therefore the number of home owners who are underwater—per se has dropped by 42 percent. The change in these numbers started in the beginning of 2012. Numbers have decreased for those who are upside down on their mortgages. The numbers have gone from 12.1 million to 7.1 million.

This information was validated for the second quarter of 2013. Home sales have also increased—for existing homes as well as new homes.  The report reminds readers to proceed with caution—alluding to the fact that the housing market has not made a full recovery just yet.

“As we regain stability in our housing markets, it is important to remember that we still have a long way to go in making sure that our housing finance system is strong for future generations,” says Kurt Usowski, HUD deputy assistant secretary for economic affairs.

The report notes that more than 1.7 million home owner assistance actions have taken place through the administration’s Making Home Affordable Program, including loan modifications and other foreclosure-mitigation efforts. But the administration continues to press mortgage servicers to improve their processes in helping struggling home owners, such as through better identification of home owners who could be helped through the program as well as improving upon the timeliness, accuracy, and detail of servicers communications with home owners. 

“While there is significant progress, there is still more improvement needed in [mortgage] servicer behavior,” says Tim Massad, Treasury assistant secretary for financial stability. “And while the housing market has recovered substantially, there are still home owners struggling to avoid foreclosure and it is vital that we continue to try to help them.”