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The Obama Administration’s Eﬀorts
To Stabilize The Housing Market
and Help American Homeowners
August 2014

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | Office of Policy Development and Research

U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Administration’s goal remains to stabilize the housing market and provide
security for homeowners. To meet these objectives in a challenging market, the
Administration developed a broad approach implementing state and local housing agency initiatives, tax credits for homebuyers, neighborhood stabilization
and community development programs, mortgage modiﬁcations and reﬁnancing,
housing counseling, continued Federal Housing Administration (FHA) engagement, support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and increased consumer protections. In addition, Federal Reserve and Treasury Mortgage-Backed Securities
purchase programs have helped to keep mortgage interest rates at record lows
for more than a year. More detail on the Administration’s efforts can be found in
the Appendix.
•

Sales of previously owned (existing) homes rose in July for the
fourth consecutive month to the highest level this year, although
sales are still below the pace a year ago. The National Association
of Realtors® (NAR) reported that existing homes—including single-family
homes, townhomes, condominiums, and cooperatives—sold at a pace of
5.15 million (SAAR) in July, up 2.4 percent from June but remain 4.3 percent
below the 5.38 million pace last July, which was the peak level in 2013.

•

Foreclosure starts and completions continue their annual
downward trend. Lenders started the public foreclosure process on
49,624 U.S. properties in July, up 5 percent from the previous month but
down 18 percent from one year ago (although foreclosure starts were up
from a year ago in 14 states). Lenders completed the foreclosure process
(bank repossessions or REOs) on 25,937 U.S. properties in July, down 4
percent from the previous month and down 30 percent from one year ago to
the lowest level since April 2007. Bank repossessions were up from a year
ago in 7 states. (Source: Realty Trac)

•

House prices increase in June while year-over-year gains
continue to slow. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
seasonally adjusted purchase-only house price index showed home values
appreciated by 0.4 percent over the prior month and 5.1-percent over the
previous year, marking the six straight month of more modest annual growth
in home prices. The FHFA index shows that U.S. home values are on par
with prices in the fall of 2005. The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price
Index (not seasonally adjusted) posted month-over-month returns for June of
1.0 percent and gains of 8.1 percent over the past 12 months. The CaseShiller index shows annual rates of gain in home prices slowing over the last
seven months; home values are at October-2004 levels. (The Case-Shiller
and FHFA price indices are released with a 2-month lag.)

•

Homeowners’ equity continues to show strong gains. According
to the Federal Reserve, homeowners’ equity was up nearly $795 billion in
the ﬁrst quarter of 2014, reaching more than $10.8 trillion, the highest level
since the second quarter of 2007. Homeowners’ equity has risen sharply
since the beginning of 2012, with equity up 73 percent, or nearly $4.6
trillion through the ﬁrst quarter of 2014. The change in equity since April 1,
2009 now stands at more than $4.7 trillion.

•

The main weakness in the housing recovery continues to be
purchases of new homes, which fell again in June although
they were higher than a year ago. New home sales declined 2.4
percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 412,000 in June, but
were up 12.3 percent from one year ago. The pace of new home sales was
the slowest in four months. Construction starts for single family homes have
not fully rebounded yet from last winter’s lows as tight credit may be driving
some supply shortages. (Source: HUD and Census Bureau).

•

The Administration’s foreclosure mitigation programs
continue to provide relief for millions of homeowners as the
recovery from the housing crisis continues. In all, more than 8.7
million mortgage modiﬁcation and other forms of mortgage assistance
arrangements were completed between April 2009 and the end of July
2014. Nearly 2.1 million homeowner assistance actions have taken place
through the Making Home Affordable Program, including nearly 1.4 million
permanent modiﬁcations through the Home Affordable Modiﬁcation Program
(HAMP), while the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has offered more
than 2.4 million loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions through
June. The Administration’s programs continue to encourage improved
standards and processes in the industry, with HOPE Now lenders offering
families and individuals more than 4.1 million proprietary modiﬁcations
through June (data are reported with a 2-month lag). You can read
Treasury’s MHA report here.

Encouraging news notwithstanding, there is a need to continue with recovery efforts as new home sales have slowed, too many homeowners remain underwater,
and mortgage delinquencies rates remain elevated. There is also considerable
geographic variation in market conditions not captured in the national statistics,
which suggests some markets are improving at different rates than others. Given
the current state of the market and recognizing that recovery will take place over
time, the Administration remains committed to its efforts to prevent avoidable
foreclosures and stabilize the housing market.

August 2014 National Scorecard | Page 1

U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Obama Administration’s Eﬀorts To Stabilize The Housing Market and Help American Homeowners | August 2014

August 2014 National Scorecard | Page 2

U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Obama Administration’s Eﬀorts To Stabilize The Housing Market and Help American Homeowners | August 2014

August 2014 National Scorecard | Page 3

U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

The Obama Administration’s Eﬀorts To Stabilize The Housing Market and Help American Homeowners | August 2014

August 2014 National Scorecard | Page 4

U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

U.S. DepartmentEﬀorts
of Housing
and UrbanThe
Development
| Office and
of Policy
and Research | August 2014
The Obama Administration’s
To Stabilize
Housing Market
HelpDevelopment
American Homeowners

Indicator

HOUSING ASSISTANCE AND STABILIZATION PERFORMANCE METRICS
This Period
Last Period
Cumulative From April 1, 2009
Latest Release

Distressed Homeowners Assisted (thousands)
HAMP Trial Modiﬁcations
HAMP Permanent Modiﬁcations
FHA Loss Mitigation Interventions
HOPE Now Modiﬁcations
HARP Reﬁnances
Counseled Borrowers (thousands)

9.6 (s)
10.2 (s)
42.2
27.7
17.8

9.8
10.8
41.8
24.6
16.6

2,224
1,397
2,422
4,166
3,189

(r)

July-14
July-14
July-14
June-14
June-14

284.3

326.0

10,554

1st Q 14

Borrower Annual Savings ($ millions)
HAMP Active Trial Modiﬁcations
HAMP Active Permanent Modiﬁcations
All Reﬁnances

----

180
6,211
59,728

2nd Q 14
2nd Q 14
2nd Q 14

Activities Completed Under NSP (housing units)
New Construction or Residential Rehab
Demolition or Clearance
Direct Homeownership Assistance

----

36,606 [62,821]
22,784 [24,280]
11,100 [17,078]

795.0

411.1

Change in Aggregate Home Equity ($ billions)

(b,s)
(b,s)
(b,s)

4,718.0

(r)

2nd Q 14
2nd Q 14
2nd Q 14
1st Q 14

HOUSING MARKET FACT SHEET
Indicator
Mortgage Rates (30-Yr FRM, percent)

This Period

Last Period

Year Ago

As of Dec 2008

Latest Release

4.10

4.57

5.10

Housing Affordability (index)

153.4

160.0

(r)

168.5

162.9

Home Prices (indices)
Case Shiller (NSA)
FHFA (SA)
CoreLogic - Excluding Distressed Sales (NSA)

172.3
212.7
175.6

170.7
211.9
174.1

(r)

159.5
202.4
164.2

150.5
196.3
160.0

Home Sales (thousands, SA)
New
Existing
First Time Buyers
Distressed Sales (percent, NSA)

34.3
429.2
176.1
14

35.2
419.2
172.6
15

(r)
(r)
(r)

30.6
448.3
182.0
18

31.4
334.2
149.9
32

July-14
July-14
July-14
May-14

Housing Supply
Existing Homes for Sale (thousands, NSA)
Existing Homes - Months’ Supply (months)
New Homes for Sale (thousands, SA)
New Homes for Sale - Months’ Supply (months, SA)
Vacant Units Held Off Market (thousands)

2,370
5.5
205
6.0
3,975

2,290
5.5
197
5.6
3,888

(r)

2,240
5.0
171
5.6
3,771

3,130
9.4
353
11.2
3,542

July-14
July-14
July-14
July-14
2nd Q 14

Mortgage Originations (thousands)
Reﬁnance Originations
Purchase Originations

534.3
668.9

554.0
521.8

(r)
(r)

1,635.0
822.3

767.1
986.3

2nd Q 14
2nd Q 14

15.0
60.4
46.2

(r)
(r)
(r)

34.4
64.1
50.5

62.9
72.7
56.2

July-14
July-14
July-14

3.3
30.2
10.8

4.4
34.3
14.3

July-14
July-14
July-14
July-14
July-14
July-14

(p)
(p)

(r)
(r)

(r)

FHA Originations (thousands)
Reﬁnance Originations
Purchase Originations
Purchases by First Time Buyers

19.3
61.7
49.2

Mortgage Delinquency Rates (percent)
Prime
Subprime
FHA

2.8
30.0
9.7

2.8
30.1
9.8

596
952
543

608
960
557

(r)
(r)

884
1,167
638

915
1,632
333

6,284

6,596

(r)

9,824

49.6
25.9
17.9
33.9

47.2
26.9
17.2
39.2

(r)
(r)

60.6
37.0
33.7
49.4

148.6
78.9
14.0
74.8

Seriously Delinquent Mortgages (thousands)
Prime
Subprime
FHA
Underwater Borrowers (thousands)
Foreclosure Actions (thousands)
Foreclosure Starts
Foreclosure Completions
Short Sales
REO Sales

(p)
(p)
(p)

(p)
(p)

4-Sep-14
June-14

(r)

June-14
June-14
June-14

1st Q 14
July-14
July-14
May-14
May-14

SA = seasonally adjusted, NSA = not SA, p = preliminary, r = revised, b = brackets include units in process, s = see note Sources and Methodology page.
August 2014 National Scorecard | Page 5

U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY

A. Items in Tables
Description
Distressed Homeowners Assisted
HAMP Trial Modiﬁcations
HAMP Permanent Modiﬁcations
HARP Reﬁnances
FHA Loss Mitigation Interventions
HOPE Now Modiﬁcations
Counseled Borrowers (thousands)
Borrower Annual Savings
HAMP Active Trial Modiﬁcations

Frequency

Sources

Notes on Methodology

Monthly
Monthly
Monthly
Monthly
Monthly

Treasury
Treasury
Federal Housing Finance Agency
HUD
Hope Now Alliance

As reported. Also see additional note in Section C below on HAMP Tier 2.
As reported. Also see additional note in Section C below on HAMP Tier 2.
As reported.
All FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions.
All proprietary modiﬁcations completed.

Quarterly

HUD

Housing counseling activity reported by all HUD-approved housing counselors.
HUD estimate of annualized savings based on Treasury reported active HAMP trial modiﬁcations and
Freddie Mac monthly savings estimates. Also see additional note in Section C below on HAMP Tier 2.
HUD estimate of annualized savings based on Treasury reported active HAMP permanent modiﬁcations
and median monthly savings estimates. Also see additional note in Section C below on HAMP Tier 2.
Reﬁnance originations (see below) multiplied by HUD estimate of annualized savings per
reﬁnance.

Quarterly

HUD, Treasury, and Freddie Mac

HAMP Active Permanent Modiﬁcations

Quarterly

HUD and Treasury

All Reﬁnances

Quarterly

HUD, and MBA

Quarterly

HUD

Quarterly

HUD

Quarterly

HUD

Quarterly

Federal Reserve Board

Completed Activities Under NSP
(housing units)
New Construction or Residential Rehab
Demolition or Clearance
Direct Homeownership Assistance
Change in Aggregate Home Equity

Housing units constructed/rehabilitated using Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Bracketed
numbers include units in process.
Housing units demolished/cleared using Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Bracketed
numbers as above.
Completed downpayment assistance or non-amortizing second mortgages by grantee to make
purchase of NSP unit affordable. Bracketed numbers as above.
Difference in aggregate household owners’ equity in real estate as reported in the Federal Reserve
Board’s Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States for stated time period.

Mortgage Rates (30-Yr FRM)

Weekly

Freddie Mac

Primary Mortgage Market Survey, as reported for 30-Year ﬁxed rate mortgages (FRM).

Housing Affordability

Monthly

National Association of Realtors®

NAR’s composite housing affordability index as reported. A value of 100 means that a family
with the median income has exactly enough income to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced
home. An index above 100 signiﬁes that a family earning the median income has more than
enough income to qualify.

Home Prices
Case-Shiller (NSA)

Monthly

Standard and Poor’s

Monthly
Monthly

Federal Housing Finance Agency
CoreLogic

Case-Shiller 20-metro composite index, January 2000 = 100. Standard and Poor’s recommends
use of not seasonally adjusted index when making monthly comparisons. FHFA monthly (purchaseonly) index for US, January 1991 = 100. CoreLogic national combined index, distressed sales
excluded, January 2000 = 100.
(Only available as NSA).

Monthly

HUD and Census Bureau

Existing

Monthly

National Association of Realtors®

First Time Buyers

Monthly

NAR, Census Bureau, and HUD

Distressed Sales (NSA)

Monthly

CoreLogic

Housing Supply
Existing Homes for Sale (NSA)
Existing Homes - Months’ Supply
New Homes for Sale (SA)
New Homes for Sale - Months’ Supply (SA)
Vacant Units Held Off Market

Monthly
Monthly
Monthly
Monthly
Quarterly

National Association of Realtors
National Association of Realtors
HUD and Census Bureau
HUD and Census Bureau
Census Bureau

As reported.
As reported.
As reported.
As reported.
As reported in Census CPS/HPS Table 4. Estimates of Housing Inventory, line item “Year-round vacant, held off market for reasons other than occasional use or usually reside elsewhere.” Vacant
units can be held off the market for a variety of reasons.

Mortgage Originations
Reﬁnance Originations

Quarterly

Purchase Originations

Quarterly

Mortgage Bankers Association
and HUD
Mortgage Bankers Association
and HUD

HUD estimate of reﬁnance originations based on MBA estimate of dollar volume of reﬁnance
originations.
HUD estimate of home purchase originations based on MBA estimate of dollar volume of home
purchase originations.

Monthly
Monthly
Monthly

HUD
HUD
HUD

FHA originations reported as of date of loan closing. Estimate for current month scaled upward due
to normal reporting lag and shown as preliminary.

Monthly
Monthly
Monthly

LPS Applied Analytics
LPS Applied Analytics
HUD

Total mortgages past due (30+ days) but not in foreclosure, divided by mortgages actively serviced.
Total mortgages past due (30+ days) but not in foreclosure, divided by mortgages actively serviced.
Total FHA mortgages past due (30+ days) but not in foreclosure, divided by FHA’s insurance in force.

Seriously Delinquent Mortgages
Prime
Subprime
FHA

Monthly
Monthly
Monthly

LPS Applied Analytics, MBA, and HUD Mortgages 90+ days delinquent or in foreclosure, scaled up to market.
LPS Applied Analytics, MBA, and HUD Mortgages 90+ days delinquent or in foreclosure, scaled up to market.
Mortgages 90+ days delinquent or in foreclosure.
HUD

Underwater Borrowers

Quarterly

CoreLogic

As reported.

Foreclosure Actions
Foreclosure Starts

Monthly

Realty Trac

Monthly
Monthly
Monthly

Realty Trac
CoreLogic
CoreLogic

Foreclosure starts are reported counts of notice of default or scheduled foreclosure auction,
depending on which action starts the foreclosure process in a state.
Real Estate Owned (REO).
Count of Short Sales for the month as reported (current month subject to revision).
Count of REO (Real Estate Owned) Sales for the month as reported
(current month subject to revision).

FHFA (SA)
CoreLogic - Excluding Distressed Sales
(NSA)
Home Sales (SA)
New

FHA Originations
Reﬁnance Originations
Purchase Originations
Purchases by First Time Buyers
Mortgage Delinquency Rates (NSA)
Prime
Subprime
FHA

Foreclosure Completions
Short sales
REO Sales

Seasonally adjusted annual rates divided by 12. A newly constructed house is considered sold
when either a sales contract has been signed or a deposit accepted, even if this occurs before
construction has actually started.
Seasonally adjusted annual rates divided by 12. Existing-home sales, which include single-family,
townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, are based on transaction closings. This differs from the
U.S. Census Bureau’s series on new single-family home sales, which are based on contracts or the
acceptance of a deposit.
Sum of seasonally adjusted new and existing home sales (above) multiplied by National
Association of Realtors ® annual estimate of ﬁrst time buyer share of existing home sales.
Short sales and REO (Real Estate Owned) sales as a percent of total existing home sales (current
month subject to revision).

August 2014 National Scorecard | Page 6

U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY
B. Notes on Charts.
1. Monthly house price trends shown as changes in respective house price indices applied to a common base price set equal to the median price of an existing
home sold in January 2003 as reported by the National Association of Realtors. Indices shown: S&P/Case Shiller 20-metro composite index (NSA), January
2000 = 100, FHFA monthly (purchase-only) index for US (SA), January 1991 = 100, and CoreLogic-Distressed Sales Excluded (Monthly) for US (NSA),
January 2000 =100.
2. S&P/Case-Shiller 10-metro composite index (NSA) as reported monthly. Implied Case-Shiller futures index ﬁgures report forward expectations for the level
of the S&P/Case Shiller index as of the date indicated, estimated from prices of futures purchased on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange reported by CME
Group. The January 2009 market trend projection reports forward expectations estimated from prices of futures contracts reported by Radar Logic. Also see
additional note in Section C below.
3. Reported seasonally adjusted annual rates for new and existing home sales divided by 12.
4. HUD estimate of reﬁnance originations based on MBA estimate of dollar volume of reﬁnance originations.
5. Cumulative HAMP permanent modiﬁcations started, FHA loss mitigation and early delinquency interventions, plus proprietary modiﬁcations completed as
reported by HOPE Now Alliance. Some homeowners may be counted in more than one category. Foreclosure completions are properties entering Real
Estate Owned (REO) as reported by Realty Trac. Also see additional note in Section C below on HAMP Tier 2.
6. Beginning with the September 2012 release, ﬁlings of a notice of default or scheduled foreclosure auction, depending on which action starts the foreclosure process
in a state, are reported for foreclosure starts. Foreclosure defaults previously had been reported as a proxy for foreclosure starts. Foreclosure completions are
properties entering REO. Both as reported by Realty Trac.
7. See “Borrower Annual Savings” above.
8. FHA market shares as FHA purchase and reﬁnance originations divided by HUD estimates of purchase and reﬁnance mortgage originations as noted in
“Mortgage Originations” above. See additional note below on FHA market share.

C. Additional Notes.
Beginning with the February 2013 release, the House Price Expectations Chart was updated by replacing market expectations as they existed in January
2009 with expectations as of December 2011. Prices of futures purchased for the S&P/Case-Shiller 10-metro composite index, available on the web
from CME Group, were used to estimate expectations for December 2011 and for the current month. Market trend as of January 2009 is estimated from
percentage changes in house price futures based on a different house price index: RadarLogic RPX. This trend has been added back to the chart because it
imparts important information on how house price expectations have changed over time.
Beginning with the January 2013 release, mortgage aid under HAMP Tier 2 is included in the totals. Effective June 2012, HAMP Tier 2 expanded eligibility
requirements to further reduce foreclosures and help stabilize neighborhoods. For non-GSE loans, eligibility was expanded to allow for more ﬂexible debt-toincome criteria and to include properties currently occupied by a tenant, as well as vacant properties which a borrower intends to rent.
FHA market share estimates are based on new methodology beginning with the October 2013 report; estimates were revised back through Q1 2013. See
the FHA Market Share report on their website for an explanation of the new methodology: http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_ofﬁces/
housing/rmra/oe/rpts/fhamktsh/fhamktqtrly.
The Q2 2014 NSP actual count was revised for the demolition or clearance category and the Q2 2014 NSP projected counts were revised for the new
construction or residential rehabilitation and the direct homeownership assistance categories.

August 2014 National Scorecard | Page 7

U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development

Appendix
The Administration has taken a broad set of actions to stabilize the housing market and help
American homeowners. Three years ago, stress in the ﬁnancial system had severely reduced
the supply of mortgage credit, limiting the ability of Americans to buy homes or reﬁnance
mortgages. Millions of responsible families who had made their monthly payments and had
fulﬁlled their obligations saw their property values fall. They also found themselves unable to
reﬁnance at lower mortgage rates.
In February 2009, less than one month after taking ofﬁce, President Obama announced the
Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan. As part of this plan and through other housing
initiatives, the Administration has taken the following actions to strengthen the housing market:
•

Supported Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure continued access to affordable
mortgage credit;

•

The Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury purchased more than $1.4 trillion in agency
mortgage backed securities through independent MBS purchase programs, helping to
keep mortgage rates at historic lows;

•

Launched a modiﬁcation initiative to help homeowners reduce mortgage payments to
affordable levels and to prevent avoidable foreclosures;

•

Launched a $23.5 billion Housing Finance Agencies Initiative to increase sustainable
homeownership and rental resources;

•

Supported the First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, which helped more than 2.5 million
American families purchase homes;

•

Provided more than $5 billion in support for affordable rental housing through low
income housing tax credit programs and $6.92 billion in support for the Neighborhood
Stabilization Program to restore neighborhoods hardest hit by the concentrated
foreclosures;

•

Created the $7.6 billion HFA Hardest Hit Fund for innovative foreclosure prevention
programs in the nation’s hardest hit housing markets;

•

Launched the $1 billion Emergency Homeowners Loan Program, as part of the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, to help unemployed and
underemployed homeowners pay a portion of their monthly mortgage.

•

Created an FHA Short Reﬁnance Option that helps underwater borrowers reﬁnance into
a new, stable, FHA-insured mortgage that is more aligned with actual property values.

•

Supported home purchase and reﬁnance activity through the FHA to provide access to
affordable mortgage capital and help homeowners prevent foreclosures.

•

Implemented a series of changes to the Home Affordable Reﬁnance Program (HARP) in
an effort to attract more eligible borrowers who can beneﬁt from reﬁnancing their home
mortgages during this time of historically low mortgage rates.
###

August 2014 National Scorecard | Page 8

Full text of The Obama Administration's Efforts to Stabilize the Housing Market and Help American Homeowners : August 2014

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