, which covered 52 domestic banks and 21 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, found that 75 percent of those banks had tightened lending standards for prime loans since the previous survey, in April. Standards were tightened even more for nontraditional loans 85 percent of banks that originate that type of loan said they had tightened standards on those loans. And six out of seven banks that originate subprime loans said they had tightened lending standards on those loans in the last three months.
The outlook for the remainder of the year isn t much friendlier for easy financing. About 45 percent of loan officers from domestic banks said they expected their banks to tighten lending standards on prime home loans in the second half of they year, and about 65 percent said they expected standards on nontraditional and subprime loans to continue to tighten during the same time period.
It s good that banks are adopting more stringent lending guidelines than the virtually nonexistent ones they employed with the 2005 to 2007 vintage mortgages which turned out to be highly susceptible to foreclosure. But could the banks be overreacting with these tighter lending standards and thereby prolonging the housing slump? Or is this exactly what the market needs to ensure that home prices stay grounded in the reality of what homebuyers can truly afford?
Source: foreclosurepulse.com
Demand for Foreclosure Websites Soar
It seems that the effects of the enduring foreclosure crisis have reached the Web. A recent survey showed that many internet users are searching for sites that contain information regarding foreclosure. For the month of June, there were approximately 1.82 billion internet users who searched for ‘foreclosure’. Compared to last year, there was apparently an increase of about 177 percent.
Source: www.foreclosurelistingsnationwide.com
July Foreclosure Report
U.S. foreclosure activity in July increased 8 percent from the previous month and 55 percent from July 2007, according to the RealtyTrac Foreclosure Market Report released today.
View state-by-state details.
Bank Repossessions (REOs) accounted for 28 percent of all activity during the month, while defaults accounted for 41 percent and auction notices accounted for 31 percent. That is in contrast to REOs accounting for just 16 percent of all activity in July 2007, while defaults in July 2007 were still at 41 percent and auction notices were at 43 percent. This shift in percentages shows that a higher proportion of properties that enter the forecosure process are ending up repossessed by lenders.
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Source: foreclosurepulse.com