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should actually be about 2 percentage points lower when considering job openings. On the other hand, there are not enough buildings going up to place the millions of unemployed construction workers back into the labor force. The GSE also noted that while construction workers typically have higher unemployment rates compared to other workers, job gains in construction tend to be substantial during an expansion. Freddie Extends Deadline for New Legal Procedures Washington Marliss Gruver The Marliss Gruver Group RE/MAX Four Seasons 24 Hour Occupancy Checks, Cash for Keys, Property Preservation, Maintenance and Repairs, BPO's, Full Marketing Campaigns ABR, GRI, CRS, CDPE Direct: 360.790.6900 Office: 360.357.3336 marliss@marlissgruver.com 2010 #2 WA RE/MAX Agent, (closed transactions) 2011 #3 WA RE/MAX Agent, (closed transactions) IN THE NEWS Freddie Mac is giving servicers more time to adopt new requirements for defaultrelated legal services. In a bulletin dated May 28, the GSE announced servicers have until August 1 of this year to comply with certain requirements for selecting law firms to handle legal matters for Freddie Mac loans. The original effective date was June 1. In order to ensure the requirements for law firm eligibility can be met by the August 1 deadline, servicers were advised to submit their Servicer Selection Forms by June 15. A spokesperson confirmed Fannie Mae is not offering the same extension. Washington rank: 23 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 3.0% Unemployment Rate 2.6% 7.0% year ago 4.9% 2.1% 8.4% year-over-year change -37.8% 25.1% -16.7% Top County Grays Harbor CounTy 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate April 2013 3.7% 4.0% year ago 5.6% 2.8% year-over-year change -33.2% 39.8% Top Core-based statistical area aberdeen, Wa 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate April 2013 3.7% 4.0% year ago 5.6% 2.8% year-over-year change -33.2% 39.8% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the April 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary April 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. 94 Redfin Reports Gains in Inventory, Sales, and Prices for April The housing market finished April in a particularly strong position, with prices, sales, and inventory posting gains across the country, according to Redfin's Real-Time Price Tracker. The Seattle-based company's monthly report is based on home prices, sales, and inventory in 19 U.S. markets, and it showed prices rose 4.9 percent in April on a monthly basis and 16.1 percent on a yearly basis. Out of the 19 metros measured in Redfin's report, 18 reported month-over-month increases in April, the same number as in March. All metros experienced price increases on a yearover-year basis. San Francisco, Sacramento, and Las Vegas saw the biggest year-over-year price gains, improving 34.5 percent, 33.5 percent, and 31.6 percent, respectively. "The housing market across the nation was hot again in April. Yes, home prices are up. But the big story in this month's report is that inventory posted its largest monthover-month increase in over three years," wrote Redfin blogger Tim Ellis. "With more homes finally available to buy, home sales posted their strongest March to April gain since 2009." According to the brokerage, April home sales rose 7.2 percent compared to March and were up 10.7 percent from April 2012, returning to double-digit yearly gains. While last month's figures were promising, Ellis noted last May was especially strong for sales, "so it is possible that this number may slip some . . . with year-over-year sales going slightly negative." Fifteen of the 19 markets tracked saw sales increase from a year ago, five more than in March. Meanwhile, the number of homes for sale increased 6.4 percent from March to April— the biggest monthly gain since March 2010— with only three markets reporting declines from month-to-month. On an annual basis, inventory was down 26.2 percent. The percentage of Redfin listings that were under contract within 14 days of debut inched up again in April, climbing 70 basis points to 35.2 percent—another record high in that category. The company predicts that number will level off through the summer. "The market is as competitive as ever with more than a third of homes going under contract in two weeks or less, but there may be light at the end of the tunnel for buyers with the solid gains in inventory," Ellis said. KNOW THIS Seattle experienced a dramatic decrease of 40.17% in inventory year-over-year as of the end of March, according to Realtor.com. West Virginia rank: 35 90+ Day Delinquency Rate 2.1% Foreclosure Rate April 2013 Unemployment Rate 1.5% 6.6% year ago 2.3% 2.3% 7.1% year-over-year change -7.9% -33.9% -7.0% Top County Morgan CounTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate April 2013 2.7% Foreclosure Rate 2.4% year ago 2.3% 3.5% year-over-year change 15.4% -32.9% Top Core-Based Statistical area Wheeling, WV-oh 90+ Day Delinquency Rate April 2013 1.8% Foreclosure Rate 2.8% year ago 1.8% 2.5% year-over-year change -0.9% 12.6% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the April 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary April 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics.

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