U.S. Home Prices Fall 0.8% From March To April
U.S. home prices fell 0.8 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from March to April, according to OFHEO’s monthly House Price Index. For the 12 months ending in April, U.S. prices fell 4.6 percent. As April 2007 was the peak of the monthly HPI, 4.6 percent is also the total fall from the peak.
For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally-adjusted monthly price changes from March to April ranged from -2.0 percent in the Pacific Census Division (which includes Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and California) to 0.9 percent in the East South Central Division (which includes Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama).
Freddie Mac Increasing Fees On Mortgages With Higher Risk
Selling requirements are amended in this Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide (Guide) Bulletin.In response to the continued deterioration of credit quality and declining home values in most areas of the country, we are further expanding our use of risk-based pricing and increasing our postsettlement delivery fee rates for certain Mortgages with higher risk. We are also announcing that certain higher-risk Mortgages will no longer be eligible for purchase, making changes to our Home Possible® Mortgage offering and providing specific guidance regarding the use of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) House Price Index to improve the identification of declining markets in order to assist in determining whether a reduction in maximum financing is necessary as Sellers assess value for a given property.