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Pennsylvania rank: 16 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate RateRate may 2012 2.71%3.91% 7.4% year ago 3.01%3.17% 8.0% percent point change -10.0%23.4% -7.5% Top County MONROE COUNTY 90+ Day Delinquency Rate may 2012 Foreclosure Rate 5.57%13.07% year ago 6.09%10.65% percent point change -8.5%22.8% Top Core-Based Statistical Area NEW YORK-NORTHERN NEW JERSEY-LONG ISLAND, NY-NJ-PA 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate may 2012 4.03%8.34% year ago 4.69%7.19% percent point change -14.1%16.0% note: The 90+ Day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are 90plus days delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the May 2012 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary May 2012 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of Lender Processing Services. IN THE NEWS Radian Expands Mortgage Insurance, Jumbo Loan Programs Radian also announced that it has enhanced MI Online, the company's web-based mortgage insurance ordering and service system. Users can now set default fields for online applications, speeding up the ordering process. After 12 new application submissions, MI Online will recommend defaults for fields in which the same criteria is consistently entered, helping to reduce data entry. Radian Guaranty, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, provides private mortgage insurance to protect lenders from default-related losses, help the sale of low down payment mortgages in the secondary market, and enable homebuyers to purchase homes more quickly with down payments lower than 20 percent. KNOW THIS Pittsburgh home prices have returned to peak levels. Its index rose to $148,000 in April, matching the $148,000 measure hit at the market's peak in 2008, according to Lender Processing Services. Rhode Island rank: 17 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate RateRate may 2012 4.09%3.88% 11.0% year ago 3.98%4.49% 11.3% percent point change Radian Guaranty Inc. is opening up new rates for high loan-to-value (LTV) loans and expanding its non-agency jumbo loan program. For all mortgage insurance applications received on or after July 23, Radian is offering both borrower- and lender-paid single premium rates for loans with LTVs between 95.01 and 97.0 percent. The company is also changing its nonagency jumbo loan program, increasing the maximum loan amount to $850,000 (at 90 percent LTV), at a maximum debt-to-income ratio (DTI) of 41 percent. This DTI can increase to up to 45 percent for loan amounts up to $650,000 (at 90 percent LTV) or $750,000 (at 85 percent LTV). Loans greater than $650,000 will require six months of reserves. In addition, loans with a 15-year balloon term will be eligible for all non-agency jumbo loan amounts. 102 2.8% -13.5%-2.7% Top County PROVIDENCE COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate may 2012 4.93%4.84% FROM THE BENCH Rhode Island Decisions Uphold MERS' Role The Rhode Island Superior Court rejected challenges to Mortgage Electronic Registrations Systems', Inc., and other defendants' authority to hold, assign, or foreclose. Justice Allen P. Rubine issued eight decisions from April to June that dismissed wrongful foreclosure and other claims against the corporation. In each of the eight rulings, Justice Rubine repeatedly rejected the plaintiffs' various allegations, including MERS' supposed lack of authority to foreclose mortgages in its name, and its inability to assign those mortgages. Citing previous decisions in Kriegel v. MERS, Breggia v. MERS, and Payette v. MERS, Judge Rubine ruled instead that MERS is a valid mortgagee under Rhode Island law with the authority to act on behalf of the current note owners, including assigning and/or foreclosing the mortgages MERS holds as mortgagee on the properties. "Rhode Island case law has been consistent when it comes to MERS' role as mortgagee," said Janis Smith, Merscorp's VP for corporate communications. "As Judge Rubine has demonstrated, challenges to MERS' authority to act on behalf of the lender–including the company's right to execute the assignment or foreclose–will be met with rejection." Merscorp Holdings, Inc., is a privately held corporation that owns and manages the MERS system and all other MERS products. It is a member-based organization made up of approximately 3,000 lenders, servicers, sub-servicers, investors, and government institutions. year ago 4.87%5.59% percent point change 1.4%-13.4% Top Core-Based Statistical Area PROVIDENCE-NEW BEDFORD-FALL RIVER, RI-MA 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate may 2012 4.07%3.88% year ago 3.98%4.47% percent point change 2.3%-13.1% note: The 90+ Day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are 90plus days delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the May 2012 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary May 2012 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of Lender Processing Services. STAT INSIGHT 41,108 Rhode Island mortgages eligible for a HARP refinance if program is extended to all GSE borrowers under S.3085. Source: The Paul Milstein School of Real Estate at Columbia Business School