Issue link: http://dsnews.uberflip.com/i/1513140
MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 76 December 2023 J O U R N A L of this year, the portion decreased in 82, or 77%, of the metro areas in the United States with enough data to analyze. Seriously underwater rates were down year over year in 63% of the metro areas analyzed. More Than 20% of Residential Mortgages Are Seriously Underwater in Just 30 ZIP Codes Among 9,067 U.S. ZIP codes that had at least 2,000 homes with mortgages in Q3 2023, there were only 30 locations where more than 20% of mortgaged properties were seriously underwater. Of those, 10 were in Cleveland or Philadel- phia. The top five ZIP codes with the largest shares of seriously underwater properties in Q3 2023 were 82716 in Gillette, Wyoming (50.8% of mortgaged homes were seriously underwater); 78041 in Laredo, Texas (46%); 78045 in Laredo, Texas (44.3%); 39601 in Brookhaven, Mississippi (43.1%); and 82718 in Gillette, Wyoming (40.5%). Most Homeowners Facing Foreclo- sure Still Have Some Equity Only about 258,900 homeowners nationwide were facing possible foreclo- sure in Q3 2023, or about one in every 242 mortgaged residential properties in the United States. Of those facing foreclo- sure, about 238,200 (or 92%) had at least some equity built up in their homes. "Elevated equity levels continue to benefit even those homeowners facing possible foreclosure. They're providing resources for most delinquent owners to help them refinance their mortgages or sell instead of just walking away and abandoning their properties," Barber said. "That remains a powerful force working against blight, which can lead to vacant homes." States where the largest portion of homeowners facing possible foreclosure had equity in their properties in Q3 2023 included Utah (97% with equity), Mas- sachusetts (95%), North Carolina (95%), Nevada (95%), and Maine (95%). States with the lowest percentages included Louisiana (76% with equity), Maryland (86%), Illinois (86%), Missouri (87%), and Alabama (88%). MANY AMERICANS AREN'T OPTIMISTIC ABOUT 2024'S HOUSING MARKET A ccording to a new Lending- Tree survey of over 2,000 U.S. consumers, an estimated 44% of Americans think the housing market is at risk of crashing in the next year. On the other hand, with some non-homeowners believing a crash is the only way they could afford a home, it may not seem surprising that a grand 35% of Americans want the market to crash. Key Findings: » Most Americans aren't optimistic about the housing market, with some hoping for a downturn. 44% of Americans think the housing market is at risk of crashing in the next year, with another 31% unsure. What's more alarming is that 36% of homeowners and 35% of Americans overall want the market to crash. And while 51% of homeowners don't want the market to burst, 15% of them say they want a crash to lower their property taxes and 15% believe it would lead to future stability. » Nearly a third of nonhomeowners think a crash is their only way to own a home. 32% of nonhomeowners believe this, but that rises to 39% among Gen Zers and 38% among millennials who don't own. Mortgage interest rates aren't helping: Across all Americans, 53% are worried they'll remain high. Separately, 79% expect rates to rise for at least another year. Looking ahead, 27% believe mortgage rates will be 8% or higher one year from now. » Those who have a locked-in low rate may be stuck in their homes. Half (50%) of homeowners say their current rate is keeping them in their houses. In addition, three-fourths (75%) of Amer- icans are unsure if they'll ever see rates as low as in 2020 and 2021, and 11% of homeowners don't think they'll ever be able to buy a home again. » Whether you rent or own, home prices and values are top of mind—for opposite reasons. When asked about their biggest housing market worries, nonhomeowners cite high home prices (48%), while homeowners cite decreasing home values (38%). All in all, though, 62% of Americans think home prices will increase in the next year, with two-thirds (66%) of them believing they'll rise by 5% or more. Americans Believe a Housing Crash Is Coming, and Some Are Looking Forward to It It's been a difficult year for consum- ers looking to buy a home, with 30-year mortgage rates reaching nearly 8.00% in October 2023—the highest since No- vember 2000. Those figures are certainly weighing heavily on most Americans: In fact, 44% think the housing market is at risk of crashing in the next year, while another 31% are unsure. Millennials (ages 27 to 42) are the most likely age group to believe a market crash is coming at 52%. That's followed by: » Gen Zers (ages 18 to 26) (48%) » Gen Xers (ages 43 to 58) (42%) » Baby boomers (ages 59 to 77) (30%) In addition, those with children young- er than 18 (55%) are more likely to expect a market crash than those without children (39%) and those with children older than 18 (35%). Meanwhile, homeowners (46%) are slightly more likely to think a market crash is coming than nonhomeowners (41%). Not everyone thinks a market crash would be bad, though: 36% of homeown- ers want the market to crash. Among this group, 15% of them say they want a crash to lower their property taxes and 15% believe it would lead to future stability. More broadly speaking, 35% of Americans want the market to crash. That's especially true among Gen Zers (53%), millennials (46%), and those with children younger than 18 (46%). On the other hand, baby boomers (18%) and those with children older than 18 (22%) are the least likely to share this feeling. LendingTree Senior Economist Jacob Channel isn't surprised that so many people want the market to crash, but he's skeptical about whether they know what it would mean.