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01/07/25
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Report Identifies Top 10 Riskiest U.S. Housing Markets
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The Mortgage Point |
Report Identifies Top 10 Riskiest U.S. Housing Markets
A recent analysis by ATTOM of housing risk shows that 16 of the 50 highest-risk markets are in California, followed by nine in New Jersey, four in Florida, and three each in Arizona and Texas.
The report, Q3 2025 U.S. Housing Risk Report, highlights county-level housing markets that were more or less vulnerable to declines in Q3 2025, based on home affordability, equity levels, and other key indicators, including the share of seriously underwater mortgages, foreclosure activity, and county unemployment rates.
According to the report, California leads the list of highest-risk counties.
Butte County, California; Humboldt County, California; Charlotte County, Florida; Shasta County, California; and El Dorado County, California were identified as having the highest housing market risk, ATTOM said. Each of those counties posted unemployment rates of 5.1% or higher and recorded at least one foreclosure for every 806 homes, the analysis said.
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01/05/25
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Adjustable-Rate Mortgages Caused Trouble in 2008. They’re Worrying Experts Again
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KQED |
Adjustable-Rate Mortgages Caused Trouble in 2008. They’re Worrying Experts Again
As the country reemerged from the coronavirus pandemic lockdown in 2021, when the COVID-19 vaccine finally arrived, TikTok reached 1 billion downloads and Adele finally released new music — the housing market also saw its own interesting development. That year, banks offered some of the lowest interest rates seen in over a decade for a type of housing loan known as an adjustable-rate mortgage.
If that term sounds familiar but you can’t place exactly where it’s from, think way before COVID-19 and TikTok. Think 2008 — interestingly enough, when Adele released her first album. Adjustable-rate mortgages (or “ARMs” for short) made headlines back then for comprising a big chunk of the foreclosures that brought down the housing market.
An ARM, to be more precise, is a loan with a monthly interest rate that stays fixed for an initial amount of time — there are options for five, seven and even 10 years. But unlike the more conventional 15- or 30-year fixed mortgage, an ARM’s rate will change after that first period — up or down, depending on where the housing market is then — and keep changing periodically until the borrower pays off the loan.
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01/03/25
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Zombie mortgages threaten homeowners as debt collectors profit
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New York Post |
Zombie mortgages threaten homeowners as debt collectors profit
US Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has sought documentation related to loans forgiven under a $25 billion national mortgage settlement that targeted foreclosure practices and other mortgage abuses by banks after the 2008 financial crisis.
Some of these loans — known as zombie mortgages — were reportedly sold to debt buyers for pennies on the dollar, despite many homeowners having received tax forms years earlier indicating the debts had been canceled.
“These zombie mortgages arise from second mortgages or HELOCs that homeowners believed were canceled in the wake of the Great Financial Crisis,” says Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com®.
“The original lenders stopped collecting payment on them, but when they are sold to debt purchasers, they ‘come back to life’ and homeowners are faced with bills they didn’t expect or even the threat of foreclosure.
“This adds uncertainty to the prospect of homeownership, which is already an affordability challenge for many.”
Collection agencies reportedly broke consumer protection laws
Some collection agencies regularly broke consumer protection laws by charging years of back interest on these zombie mortgages for periods when no statements had been issued, according to a report by Bloomberg.
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