DS News

DS News July 2017

DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.

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12 ON THE WEB WEBSITES TO GET TO KNOW. Whether you're firing off a quick email or typing up your year-end report, writing clean, polished copy is important. With GRAMMARLY, doing exactly that is infinitely easier. A powerful tool that analyzes your writing for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, all it takes is a quick copy-and-paste, and you can have clean, typo-free content in minutes. If you upgrade to the premium version, you can also check for plagiarism and get expert- level recommendations that can make your copy even better. A cloud-based file-sharing platform, Box offers a secure place to upload, view, and access files from any device or location. Perfect for collaborative projects, BOX lets users edit, comment, and interact on documents and share that input with others. Each Box boasts unique encryption keys, so owners can give access to only those who need it, and the platform supports a number of compliance standards, including HIPAA, SEC 17a-4, and more. An enterprise-level alternative to Dropbox, Box integrates easily with dozens of apps, including Symantec, Slack, Salesforce, and Office 365. e perfect tool if you travel often, TRIPIT is your own personal itinerary builder. Just send in all your confirmation emails from hotels, airlines, car rental companies, and even restaurants, and Tripit will build you a day-by- day itinerary to follow while you're away. e pro version of Tripit has even more valuable features, sending you real-time flight status and cancellation alerts, tracking mileage and VIP program points, and letting you know when prime seats or new flights open up. BOX.COM 2 GRAMMARLY.COM 1 TRIPIT.COM 3 UNDERWATER MORTGAGES DROP BY 3 PERCENT Negative equity dropped over the first quarter, with the total value of underwater mortgages declining by more than $283 billion since the start of the year, according to the CoreLogic Q1 2017 Equity Insights Report released in June. e national aggregate value fell 0.9 percent over the quarter and 7.1 percent since Q1 2016. In total, the number of underwater residential mortgages dropped 3 percent since Q 4 2016 and 24 percent over the year. Still, about 3.1 million residential mortgages—or 6.1 percent of all U.S. mortgages—remain underwater as of Q1, according to the report. At their peak in 2009, underwater mortgages accounted for a 26 percent share of all mortgages. Subsequently, positive equity is on the rise across the country. According to the report, about 9 million borrowers have regained equity since 2017 and 91,000 regained equity in 2017 alone. About 63 percent of all homeowners have seen an increase in equity since Q1 2016, with the average homeowner gaining about $13,400 in equity during that period. According to Dr. Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist at CoreLogic, mortgage risk is falling as a result. "One million borrowers achieved positive equity over the last year, which means mortgage risk continues to steadily decline as a result of increasing home prices," Nothaft said. "Pockets of concern remain with markets such as Miami, Las Vegas, and Chicago, which are the top three for negative equity among large metros, with each recording a negative equity share at least twice or more the national average." Broken down by states, Texas had the highest percentage of positive equity mortgages as of Q1, with 98.4 percent in the black. e Lone Star State was followed by Utah (98.2 percent), Washington (98.2 percent), Hawaii (98.1 percent), and Colorado (98 percent). Washington saw the highest jump in equity over the year, with an average of $37,900 per homeowner. According to Frank Martell, President and CEO of CoreLogic, rising equity also means a stronger overall economy. "Homeowner equity increased by over $750 billion during the last year, the largest increase since mid-2014," Martell said. "e rising cushion of home equity is one of the main drivers of improved mortgage performance. It also supports consumer balance sheets, spending, and the broader economy." Foreclosures hit a 12-year low of just 52,800 over the first quarter of the year according to a 2017 report by Black Knight Financial Services. KNOW THIS

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