Home builders grew more confident in November, compared with October’s figures. Confidence in the market for single family homes rose by three points to 20, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. The index was at its highest level since May 2010.

Housing market faces challenges

Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders, said in a statement:

While this second solid monthly gain on the builder confidence scale is encouraging, the overall measure remains quite low due to many challenges that home building continues to face with regard to the high number of foreclosures, the difficulty of obtaining construction financing and accurate appraisals, and the restrictive lending environment that is discouraging potential buyers. These problems must be addressed so that housing can contribute to economic and job growth the way it has in the past.

Qualifying for low-rate mortgage loans

The increase in builder confidence is related to the fact that homeowners who are able to qualify for mortgages are looking to take advantage of current mortgage rates, which have dipped to historically low levels. Borrowers with good credit may be more willing to hunt for a new home at a bargain price if they can obtain a mortgage loan at such low rates. The NAHB anticipates that builder confidence will continue to improve going into 2012.

Help for the housing market

The state of the nation’s housing market continues to be of concern to many people inside and outside the real estate industry. Speakers at the 2011 Realtors Conference & Expo said that the struggling housing market needs to be a priority of the nation’s public agenda.

“A healthy housing industry helps everyone in the country,” said Rep. Gary Miller, (R-Calif.) at the conference. The housing market has led this nation out of every downturn we’ve had in the past. Congress needs to focus on stabilizing the market, and that must be dealt with today and in a comprehensive fashion that will serve homeowners today and in the future.”

Despite woes in the housing market over the last five years, many Americans still believe in the dream of home ownership. A recent poll by the Pew Research Center found that 81 percent of adults agree that buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make. That’s despite the fact that home prices have dropped 31 percent from 2006 peaks. Home ownership beat out having enough money to live comfortably in retirement, being able to pay for children’s education and being able to leave an inheritance for children.

About half of those polled (47 percent) said their home is worth less than it was before the recession started, while 31 percent said their home’s value has remained the same and 17 percent said the value has risen. Of the people who said their home had lost value, 37 percent strongly agree and 45 percent somewhat agree that buying a home is their best long-term investment.

When to get a mortgage

Many of these people may be waiting until home prices rise so they can try to sell and get a mortgage to purchase a different property. Renters also believe in home ownership, with 81 percent saying they would like to buy a place. While home prices may not have reached the bottom yet, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t make sense to get a mortgage at this time. It’s just important to do your research to get the best home loan deal possible.

Comparing mortgage loans

Avoid letting your emotions get the better of you when shopping for a home loan. Mortgage rates have been inching up recently and there is an expectation that they will continue rising this year, according to a Sacramento Bee report. But current mortgage rates are still affordable for people who have the means and credit to buy a home.

If you aren’t in the market for a new mortgage and can afford your current payments on a home loan, it probably makes sense to stay put. Also, if you have bad credit you will have a difficult time getting a mortgage lender to approve you for a home loan. Keep working on repairing your credit and saving up a down payment until you are in a position to buy into the American dream of home ownership.

Having enough money to purchase a home outright might seem like a fantasy, but 28 percent of all homes bought in 2010 were all-cash deals, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. Areas that had more depressed housing markets had more all-cash purchases.

Among the areas that saw a lot of these purchases is Miami-Fort Lauderdale, were over 50 percent of purchases involved cash buyers. About 42 percent of real estate purchases in Phoenix were all-cash deals.

“The prices were just irresistible,” Richard Stoker, who paid cash for two condos in Miami Beach, Fla., told the Wall Street Journal. “Florida’s been hit pretty hard.”

No mortgage loans

Buyers who pay with cash may receive a discount off the price of a home.They also have the freedom that comes with owning a property free and clear of a mortgage. Often people who are able to purchase a house with cash are investors. According to San Diego-based DataQuick, “All-cash deals have become popular in many Western markets where prices have dropped sharply, luring investor buyers who don’t always qualify for traditional mortgages. Moreover, sellers favor the relative speed and certainty of all-cash transactions.”

While investors are more likely to do all-cash deal, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t buyers out there who can afford to buy a home without a mortgage. The Money Saving Mom blog describes in a series of articles how one couple scrimped and saved to get the money they needed to buy a home in an all-cash deal. Buying a home with cash isn’t for everyone and requires a lot of sacrifices and careful planning. To determine if it is even possible to aim for the goal of buying a house with cash, you may need to work with a financial advisor to put together a plan.

What if you need a mortgage?

If, however, paying cash is too unrealistic of a goal to achieve, you’ll need to plan for getting a home loan if you want to buy a house. Be prepared to provide plenty of documentation about your income and assets when applying for a home mortgage. You also want to have the best credit possible since many mortgage lenders expect you to have a credit score of at least 720 to qualify for the best mortgage rates.

African-Americans and Latinos are less likely to receive mortgage loans as the housing crisis has deepened, according to a recent report from ComplianceTech, a provider of technology and mortgage data analysis for government agencies, nonprofits and financial institutions. The analysis of data from 2004 to 2009 shows that there are disparities in the availability of mortgage credit to African-Americans and Latinos. Members of these groups have more difficulty financing a home regardless of whether they are new home buyers or homeowners looking to refinance.

The sub-prime mortgage crisis

The analysis also debunks the erroneous notion that mortgage lending to minorities was at the root of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Data in the report show that whites actually received the highest number and dollar volume of sub-prime mortgage loans, and are likely to have more mortgage loans in foreclosure. Whites received 4.1 million sub-prime mortgages between 2004 and 2009, Latinos 1.3 million, African-Americans 1.2 million and Asians 179,000.

The report states:

As the foreclosure crisis threatens the financial stability and mobility of families across the country, it will be particularly devastating to African American and Latino families, who already lag behind their white counterparts in terms of income, wealth and educational attainment. Furthermore, the indirect losses in wealth that result from foreclosures as a result of depreciation to nearby properties will disproportionately impact communities of color.Fewer prime mortgages

African-Americans and Latinos have lower origination rates and higher costs when they are approved for mortgages. Between 2004 and 2009 the market share of prime rate mortgage loans for African-Americans fell 62.67 percent and 61.62 percent for Latinos. The market share of prime rate mortgages grew 12.54 percent for whites and 19.6 percent for Asians.

All racial groups experienced a decline in the volume of prime mortgage loans. African-American prime loan volume plunged to $19.5 billion in 2008 from $82 billion in 2004. Latino prime mortgage loan volume fell to $40.2 billion in 2009 from $171 billion in 2004. Prime mortgage loan volume for whites fell to $876 billion in 2009 from $1.2 trillion in 2004, while Asians saw loan volume decline to $90.6 billion in 2009 from $121 billion in 2004. However, white and Asian borrowers saw increases in prime loan volume between 2008 and 2009, while African-Americans and Latinos experienced declines.

More homeowners than ever paid down mortgage loan balances while refinancing their homes in the fourth-quarter of 2010, according to Freddie Mac. During the period, 46 percent of homeowners who refinanced mortgages brought cash to closing to lower their principal balance. That is the highest “cash-in” share since Freddie Mac began tracking refinance activity in 1985.

Paying down mortgages and other debt

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist, said in a statement:

Consumers are generally shedding debt, and mortgages are just another way they’re doing it. Between 2007 and the third quarter of 2010, mortgage debt declined more than $400 billion, according to the Fed. The estimated volume of net equity cashed out in our report do not account for the homeowners who have paid off their mortgages in their entirety.

Cash-out refinancing

Freddie Mac also reported that the percent of cash-out refinances, in which homeowners cashed out some home equity, fell to a record low. Borrowers who increased their mortgage loan balance by at least 5 percent accounted for 16 percent of mortgage refinancing. The cash-out refinance share has averaged 62 percent over the past 25 years.

Getting a cash-out refinance deal has gotten tougher for many borrowers as the housing crisis has dragged on. Lower home values, high unemployment and tougher lending standards all have put the brakes on the my-house-is-a-piggy-bank mentality that swept America before the housing downturn.

Taking advantage of low mortgage rates

Some savvy homeowners who still have good credit have can use current market conditions to their advantage. Instead of using low mortgage rates to simply lower monthly payments, you can choose to also reduce the amount of principal being refinanced by bringing cash to closing. This strategy can give you a choice of making the new lower payments or continuing to pay down your mortgage faster by sticking with the higher payments you made before refinancing. Either way you end up paying out less interest over the life of the mortgage loan.

When shopping around to compare mortgage loans, let lenders know that you are interest in bring cash to closing to pay down the principal. This could work in your favor and allow you to get a better mortgage rate. Bring cash to closing also could push up your home equity enough to get rid of monthly mortgage insurance (MI) payments.

U.S. home prices fell 4.1 percent in 2010, according to a report from Clear Capital. The provider of data services for the real estate industry also said that home prices dropped in 70 percent of major markets, pressured by high unemployment and REO saturation above 22 percent during the year. REO saturation is the proportion of homes that are sold as bank-owned.

Is there a recovery?

Dr. Alex Villacorta, senior statistician with Clear Capital, said in a statement:

Some housing markets are well on their way to recovery, while others are experiencing a renewed downturn reminiscent of the housing crash only two years ago. Understanding which path a given market is likely to follow is dependent on several key factors, but the two clear drivers are local unemployment rates and the prevalence of distressed homes.

Housing markets change

Only eight major markets experienced double digit declines during the year, indicating that rapid and severe declines are subsiding. Those markets were Dayton, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Milwaukee, Wis.; Tucson, Ariz.; New Haven, Conn.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Virginia Beach, Va.; and Richmond, Va.

Of the 15 major markets that had price gains, six were in California, a state that has been hit hard by the housing crisis and had a lot of homeowners default on mortgage loans. Those markets were Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, and Fresno.

Home mortgage applications

Some housing markets were lifted by home buyers taking advantage of a government tax credit. The tax credit encouraged many people to apply for mortgages while interest rates were at or near historical lows. Without the tax credit some homeowners may not have enough money saved up for a mortgage loan down payment and may put off buying a house.

Markets expected to continue struggling

The clear Capital data indicates that housing markets in the West may continue to struggle this year, and that Arizona may post double digit declines. Major Arizona cities have unemployment below the national average, but REO saturation in Tucson is more than 12 percentage points above the national level and more than 19 percentage points for Phoenix.

California markets that improved this year and posted gains may not experience that again this year. Also, housing markets in the South also are expected to struggle, with four of the 10 worst declining markets being in that region.

Mortgage loan fraud suspicious activity reports (SARs) rose 7 percent in the first half of 2010 to 35,135 from 32,926 a year earlier, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The rise in the number of reports is partly due to “increased attention to older loans spurred by repurchase demands.”

“SARs are one of the most important sources of lead information for mortgage fraud investigations available to law enforcement,” FinCEN Director James H. Freis, Jr. said in a statement. “As a member of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, FinCEN remains active with law enforcement and other partner agencies in the task force to provide lead information and to identify potential abuses in order to combat mortgage loan fraud.”

Spotting a home loan scam

Mortgage fraud is perpetrated through a variety of schemes. Among the types of fraud that could occur are:

• Flopping, which is a flipping scheme that occurs when a foreclosed property is sold at an artificially low price to a straw buyer, who turns around and sells it at a higher price and keeps the difference.
• Submitting fraudulent home loan documents to mortgage lenders. In some cases dishonest mortgage professionals may submit phony documents that inflate the salaries and assets of borrowers.
• Inflating home appraisals to qualify for mortgage loans
• Foreclosure rescue scams that target homeowners who are having trouble making mortgage payments

What should you do?

Mortgage fraud can steal your money and your sense of security. That’s why it’s important to take steps to guard against becoming a victim. Among the things you can do to protect yourself are:

• Get referrals for real estate and mortgage professionals from trustworthy friends and family members
• Never sign documents that you have not read and do not understand
• Use a reputable attorney to review all the documents and terms of your transaction
• Check to make sure that all documents have information that is correct
• Make sure that a comprehensive title search has been done on the property
• Be skeptical of real estate professionals who require you to use specific mortgage lenders or home appraisers

Senior citizens are often vulnerable to scams. If you have an elderly relative who seems to be caught up in a troublesome financial transaction, try to find out as much information as you can to determine if they are being scammed.

Mortgage rates have risen over the past few weeks, contributing to a decline in mortgage applications. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 4.83 percent this week, compared with 4.61 percent last week, according to Freddie Mac. This rate was 4.17 percent in November, the lowest point recorded by Freddie Mac since it began tracking rates in 1970.

Historical mortgage rates

Have you been dragging your fee about applying for a mortgage refinance or a loan to purchase a home? If so, don’t panic. While mortgage rates have risen during the past few weeks they are still near historic lows. For instance, if you had applied for a mortgage in October 1981, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were averaging 18.45 percent, according to HSH Associates. Even as recently as 2008, mortgage rates rose above 6 percent.

Improve your profile as a borrower

Mortgage rates can change at any time, but that’s no reason not to shop around to find a good deal. Take steps now to make yourself a more attractive candidate for refinancing or a new home loan. Use the following tips to improve the chance of getting a mortgage:

• Clean up your credit. Read your credit reports to find inaccurate or outdated information. Contact the credit reporting agency and creditors to clear up any mistakes. Do not wait until you are about to apply for a mortgage loan to do this.
• Pay off as much debt as possible. Not only do credit cards have high interest, but having too much debt from them can keep you from getting approved for mortgage refinancing or a loan to purchase a property. The less high-interest debt you have, the more income you can put toward monthly mortgage payments.
• Save as much as possible. Whether you are trying to refinance or buy a home, your ability to bring more cash to the closing can improve your chances of getting a loan. When buying a property, the larger the down payment, the less your monthly payments on a mortgage. If you are refinancing, bringing cash to closing–a cash-in refinance–can boost your home equity, making you a more attractive loan candidate to mortgage lenders.

Shop for mortgage deals

Mortgage rates may continue to climb, or they may fall again. You can’t time the market, so it’s not really worth it to try. If you really want to get a home loan to purchase a property or refinance, go ahead and do what you need to do to qualify for the best loan.

Cases of wrongful foreclosure are on the increase, according to a USA Today article. Reports are pouring in of homeowners who are battling foreclosure proceedings even though they are current on mortgage payments. The mess is being related to stories about banks robo-signing foreclosure documents without reviewing them. Although most of the robo-signing involved people who had stopped paying on mortgage loans, it appears that some homeowners are being targeted for foreclosure proceedings.

Mortgage foreclosure snafu

The USA Today story uses examples of people who were foreclosed upon by banks that they never had mortgage loans with, people who had never missed payments, and even a guy who paid for his house with cash. In some cases, people’s homes were ransacked and padlocked, and their belongings were taken away.

According to the article:

“This is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Ira Rheingold, an attorney and executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. Diane Thompson, a lawyer with the National Consumer Law Center, has defended hundreds of foreclosure cases. “In virtually every case, I believe the homeowner was not in default when you looked at the surrounding facts. It is a widespread problem throughout the country.”

Lawsuits involving mortgage mess

Some homeowners in wrongful foreclosure cases are attempting to fight back by filing lawsuits against mortgage lenders. Class-action suits have been filed against mortgage lenders in Kentucky and California who foreclosed upon homeowners who claim they made mortgage payments after having home loans modified.

So just how widespread are instances of wrongful foreclosure and could you become a victim? There don’t appear to be any formal statistics for how many homeowners have been affected. But according to the USA Today article:

Tammie Lou Kapusta is a former paralegal with the law offices of David J. Stern, a Florida firm that works for all the major banks and handles up to 70,000 foreclosure cases a year. Kapusta testified in September that she received as many as 50 calls a day from homeowners who said they were the victims of mistakes. But she was told, she testified, to ignore the callers and push through the foreclosures anyway. The law firm is under investigation by the Florida attorney general.

The take away

A lesson to be learned from all this is to always pay attention to correspondence from your mortgage lender. Open all mail in a timely fashion and address any concerns immediately. Apparently having good credit and making mortgage payments on time is no guarantee that you won’t become the victim of a wrongful foreclosure.

The “shadow inventory” of U.S. real estate rose to 2.1 million homes in August 2010, according to data from CoreLogic, a mortgage research firm. These numbers represent an 8-month supply of homes, compared to a 5-month supply, or 1.9 million homes, a year earlier.

Troubled home loans

Shadow inventory includes homes that are in foreclosure, homes that have mortgage loans that are at least 90 days past due, and real estate owned (REO) properties owned by mortgage lenders but not yet listed for sale. Shadow inventory usually is not included in official statistics about unsold properties. The visible supply of unsold inventory was 4.2 million units, unchanged from a year earlier.

The total supply of unsold homes at the end of August was 23 months, compared with 17 months a year earlier. Usually a supply of 6 to 7 months is considered normal.

“The weak demand for housing is significantly increasing the risk of further price declines in the housing market,” Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in a statement. “This is being exacerbated by a significant and growing shadow inventory that is likely to persist for some time due to the highly extended time-to-liquidation that servicers are currently experiencing.”

Problems with shadow inventory

Homes included in shadow inventory may be difficult to sell even if they eventually are put on the market. They may be located in areas that have many distressed homes. The properties may need a lot of repairs before they can even be marketed properly.

Delinquent mortgage loans

Meanwhile, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.13 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the third quarter of 2010, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Michael Fratantoni, MBA’s Vice President of Research and Economics, said in a statement:

“Most often, homeowners fall behind on their mortgages because their income has dropped due to unemployment or other causes. Although the employment report for October was relatively positive, the job market had improved only marginally through the third quarter, so while there was a small improvement in the delinquency rate, the level of that rate remains quite high. As we anticipate that the unemployment rate will be little changed over the next year, we also expect only modest improvements in the delinquency rate.”

The delinquency rate includes mortgage loans that behind at least one payment but not in the process of foreclosure. The quantity of home mortgages that were in foreclosure fell to 4.39 percent in the third quarter, down from the previous quarter and down from a year earlier.