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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Treasury released their findings on the current housing market in their June housing scorecard. The scorecard is a monthly report on the U.S. housing market that compiles data from multiple sources to provide a complete look at foreclosures, defaults, construction, and sales for that month.
The June housing scorecard revealed positive growth in the housing market. However, the Obama Administration stressed that while the nation is making strides, steps must still be taken to ensure a complete recovery from the Great Recession.
Katherine O’Regan—HUD Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research—spoke about the recent improvements in the housing market. “Sales of new and existing homes are up, equity continues to grow, and foreclosures starts continue trending down,” she stated.
The extension and creation of multiple programs fueled the positive results of the scorecard. For example, the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was recently extended until 2016. This program has continued to help qualified homeowners with loan modifications concerning mortgage debt. Currently, 1.3 million homeowners have taken advantage of HAMP.
In addition, the aid of other foreclosure programs contributed to the overall decrease in beginning and completed foreclosure processes nationwide. The initial foreclosure processes on May properties decreased by 32% from a year ago whereas the actual completion of foreclosure processes dropped 27% for the same time frame.
The scoreboard also references a harsh winter as the cause of lackluster home sales from previous quarters. However, statistics from May show significant recovery in home sales with a 16.9% increase compared to a year ago. The steep increase was the largest monthly gain experienced in the past 22 years.
Since April, the housing scorecard has documented a steady and positive path toward economic recovery. To maintain the upward trend, the June Housing Scorecard stated that the Administration will “continue with recovery efforts to sustain home sales, help homeowners that are underwater, and reduce mortgage delinquencies rates that remain elevated.”