When it seems that things cannot get any worse in the residential real estate market, they do. Nationally, home prices continued to plummet during the first quarter, falling -4.6% from a year earlier. Condo prices fell -10.4%. So far this year prices are dropping faster than they did in 2010. Nationally the median home price has fallen -30% from its 2006 high.
Here in Atlanta during the first quarter house values fell -4.4% from a year earlier. The year over year change was -17.3% and Atlanta house values have fallen -33.7% from their peak. Of Atlanta houses with mortgage loans, 55.7% have negative equity. Lenders: the keys are in the mail.
The residential value crisis has done little to abate the mortgage fraud problem. Reports of mortgage fraud in 2010 reached the highest level ever, according to the Treasury Department. The fraudsters have changed their schemes to reflect the times and often target homeowners that are underwater on their mortgage loans.
The number of bank failures reached 13 in April, the highest number since July of 2010. Georgia leads the country in bank failures with 10 this year and 70 since the start of the cycle. Commercial real estate loans represented the highest percentage of nonperforming loans at the recently failed institutions with residential loans a close second.
Here in Atlanta during the first quarter house values fell -4.4% from a year earlier. The year over year change was -17.3% and Atlanta house values have fallen -33.7% from their peak. Of Atlanta houses with mortgage loans, 55.7% have negative equity. Lenders: the keys are in the mail.
The residential value crisis has done little to abate the mortgage fraud problem. Reports of mortgage fraud in 2010 reached the highest level ever, according to the Treasury Department. The fraudsters have changed their schemes to reflect the times and often target homeowners that are underwater on their mortgage loans.
The number of bank failures reached 13 in April, the highest number since July of 2010. Georgia leads the country in bank failures with 10 this year and 70 since the start of the cycle. Commercial real estate loans represented the highest percentage of nonperforming loans at the recently failed institutions with residential loans a close second.
