ATTOM: Refis Push 4Q Lending Activity Up 5.5%

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., reported a 5.5 percent increase in residential mortgage activity during the fourth quarter and a nearly 50 percent increase from a year ago to its highest level in nearly 14 years.

With Moratoria in Place, ‘Zombie’ Properties Fade

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said just 175,000 vacant properties entered the foreclosure process in the first quarter—a reflection of ongoing national and local foreclosure/eviction moratoria.

Housing Market Roundup

Here’s a quick-hit summary of several housing and housing finance reports released over the past several days:

ATTOM: 4Q Home Equity Improves

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., released its fourth-quarter U.S. Home Equity & Underwater Report, which noted an increase to 17.8 million residential properties in the United States considered equity-rich—the combined estimated amount of loans secured by those properties was 50 percent or less of their estimated market value.

Home Seller Profits Soar to Highest Rates Since 2005

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said home sellers nationwide in 2020 realized a home-price gain of $68,843 on the typical sale, up from $53,700 in 2019 and $48,500 two years ago.

East Coast Housing Remains Vulnerable to Coronavirus Impact

Nearly a year after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, housing markets in the Northeast and other parts of the East Coast remained most at risk during fourth quarter, said ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif.

ATTOM: Homeownership Slips into ‘Unaffordable’ in 4Q

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said median home prices of single-family homes and condos in the fourth quarter of 2020 were less affordable than historical averages in 55 percent of counties with enough data to analyze, up from 43 percent a year ago and 33 percent three years ago.

3Q Home Flipping Drops but Profits Reach Record High

ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., said home flipping fell in the third quarter from both the second quarter and a year ago, but profits—and profit margins—jumped to record highs.