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District of Columbia rank: 28 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate november 2012 3.48% Unemployment Rate 2.41% 8.4% year ago 2.90% 2.97% 10.2% percent point change 20.0% -18.9% -17.6% Top County DisTriCT of Columbia 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate november 2012 3.48% 2.41% year ago 2.90% 2.97% percent point change 20.0% -18.9% Top Core-based statistical area WashingTon-arlingTon-alexanDria, DC-Va-mD-WV 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate november 2012 3.15% 2.40% year ago 1.75% 1.70% percent point change 80.5% 41.1% 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 November 2012 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary November 2012 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of Lender Processing Services. IN THE NEWS GSE Survey Signals Growing Consumer Optimism for Home Prices Uncertainty over the fiscal cliff negotiations did little to shake consumers' confidence about housing in December, according to the results of Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey released last month. Consumers continued to show increased optimism for expectations related to home prices, rental prices, and mortgage rates—a sign that home purchase activity may see a boost in the coming months. "Combined with consumers' growing mortgage rate and rental price increase expectations, the positive home price outlook could incentivize those waiting on the sidelines of the housing market to buy a home sooner rather than later and thus support continued housing acceleration," said Doug Duncan who serves as SVP and chief economist for Washington, D.C.-based Fannie Mae. 106 The average expectation among survey respondents for changes in home prices during the next 12 months jumped from an increase of 1.7 percent in November to a 2.6 percent gain in December—the highest level since the survey's inception in 2010. To compare, the average price change expectation a year earlier was for meager growth of only 0.8 percent. The share of respondents who believe home prices will rise over the next year also reached its highest recorded level, increasing 6 percentage points to 43 percent. The share of those expecting price declines fell to 11 percent, while those expecting prices to stay more or less the same fell to 40 percent. Twenty-one percent of respondents said now is a good time to sell, a decrease of 2 percentage points from November's record high but still 10 percentage points above the December 2011 survey. The number of respondents who said now is a good time to buy decreased slightly to 71 percent, staying within the small range seen throughout 2012. In addition, the percentage that expect mortgage rates will go up continued to rise, increasing 2 percentage points to 43 percent—the highest level since August 2011. Eight percent expect rates to drop, a decline from 9 percent in November while 44 percent expect flat rates, down from 45 percent. On the rental side, 49 percent of those surveyed said home rental prices will rise during the next year, a slight increase from November, while the share of those expecting rental prices to drop was flat at 4 percent. The average rental price change expectation was a 4.4 percent increase—another survey high. For all that, though, interest in buying and renting was little changed: The percentage of those who would buy if they were going to move decreased slightly to 66 percent, while the percentage of those who would rent remained unchanged at 29 percent. That flatness may stem from consumers' overall economic outlook, which tanked after November's show of optimism. "Despite continued strengthening in the housing market, consumers' concerns over the fiscal cliff and debt ceiling have caused considerable volatility in their perceptions of the larger economy," Duncan said. "This uncertainty seems to be prompting a growing share of consumers to expect their personal finances to worsen and may contribute to weaker near-term economic growth." The share of respondents who believe the economy is on the right track dropped 5 percentage points from November's high, landing at 39 percent in December. Fifty-three percent say the economy is on the wrong track, up from 50 percent in November. Meanwhile, the percentage of respondents who said their household income is significantly higher than it was a year ago rose slightly to 22 percent. However, 37 percent reported significantly higher household expenses compared to 12 months ago, a 3 percentage point increase over November and the highest level since December 2011. The percentage who said they expect their personal financial situation to worsen over the next 12 months rose to 20 percent, its highest level since August 2011, while the percentage of respondents expecting their situation to improve stayed flat at 40 percent. STAT INSIGHT 6.6% Annual change in property values in Washington, D.C. in November 2012. Source: CoreLogic Driven by the inDustry, for the inDustry Help shape the next issue of DS News. Drop us a line at Editor@DSNews.com.

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