The average price of a single family residence home in Rockland County(stats for SOLD properties for the month of May 2007) is approx. $547.915 down ( by- 3.2% ) from last years month of May $565.980

For the 1st Quarter, The Total Average Price /Rockland = $546,300

May 11th, 2007 7:01 PM

The average SOLD price for a single family residential home in Rockland County April of 2006 was $566.605

The average SOLD price for a single family residential home in Rockland County

April 2007 ( last month ) was $571.421

Just about the same, up slightly by 0.8%

---

Posted by Christine

Home Equity Theft Prevention Act, which took effect on Feb. 1, is meant to protect homeowners who have defaulted on their mortgages from predators intent on bilking them out of their property. But lawyers and title insurers say the law may have some unintended consequences.

  This law may cause problems for the very people it was intended to protect.

Go To     http://www.rocklandcountyagent   Blog for more

FORECLOSURE BOOM ?????????

Excerpt From Bloomberg News March

As many as 1.5 million more Americans may lose their homes, another 100,000 people in housing-related industries could be fired, and an estimated 100 additional subprime mortgage companies that lend money to people with bad or limited credit may go under, according to realtors, economists, analysts and a Federal Reserve governor. Financial stocks also could extend their declines over mortgage default worries.

Excerpt From The New York Times March

Senator Charles Schumer, New York, said yesterday that he favored an overhaul of federal mortgage regulations, citing widespread concern about the surge in defaults and foreclosures involving subprime mortgages, risky home loans made to people with weak credit. Citing data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Census Bureau, Mr. Schumer said that about 91,000 households in New York State, including 53,000 in the New York City metropolitan area, were at risk of foreclosure by the end of 2008, as interest rates on adjustable-rate mortgages are reset. At a hearing on Thursday, members of the Senate Banking Committee criticized the Federal Reserve for failing to curb mortgage lending abuses.

For Some Subprime Borrowers, Few Good Choices.
Excerpt From The New York Times March

 

Last year, more than 37 percent of subprime loans were made without verification of borrowers' incomes, up from 15 percent in 2000, according to an analysis by JPMorgan Chase. Also, a third of borrowers took out a second mortgage, up from 6.8 percent in 2003, suggesting that they did not have enough money for a down payment.

For these borrowers, the best alternatives, according to some housing specialists, may include short sales, in which a lender accepts a sale for less than what is owed on the house, or a deed in lieu of foreclosure, where a lender takes ownership of a house instead of full payment of the mortgage.

Rising default rates have thus far had a modest impact on the overall economy, but economists fear that the problems could intensify if a broader range of borrowers, including those with stronger credit, start falling behind on payments. A big increase in the number of homes for sale, because of rising foreclosures, would put more pressure on prices and limit home buying and consumer spending.

The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on problems in the subprime market today in Washington. Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut and the committee's chairman, has suggested that the federal government may need to bail out homeowners in trouble, and some housing advocacy groups are calling for a moratorium on foreclosures.