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49 » VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM 10 HOUSING MARKETS STILL IN RECOVERY MODE Since the housing crash and recession in 2008, some metro areas have made full recoveries, while others continue to struggle. Recently released data reports that 37 major metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) have not yet recovered peak values reached during the previous boom. Utilizing the Federal Housing and Finance Agency's Home Price Index, HSH.com recently released a Q 3 report on the top and bottom 10 MSAs that have recovered the most and the least. e report notes that it is important to consider that although the 37 major MSAs still remain the furthest from their boom-year price peaks, they have experienced significant price recoveries since hitting their bottom values. However, home prices in some areas—Las Vegas, for example—are so inflated that even when they return to a "normal" value they may still be well below their previous price peak, which is causing recovery to happen at a much slower pace. ree California areas rank in the top 10 MSAs with the slowest recovery, with Bakersfield, California ranking No. 1. Following suit is Las Vegas, Nevada; Stockton-Lodi, California; Camden, New Jersey; New Haven- Milford, Connecticut; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida; Fresno, California; Bridgeport- Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut; Tucson, Arizona; and Elgin, Illinois, respectively. ough the metros in the top 10 most recovered have not changed since last quarter, two switched positions—for now. e San Francisco metro area moved up to No. 4, and the Houston metro took its previous spot at No. 6. But the report notes that the positions may fluctuate as the Houston area recovers from recent hurricanes. Although home prices continue their rise, only one market managed to join the "fully recovered" group this quarter—the Cleveland- Elivra, Ohio MSA—with prices now 1.04 percent above the market's previous price peak, a value recovery process that took over 11 years to complete. El Paso, Texas, is the only metro in line to join the "nearly recovered" group, meaning the next MSA to hit "fully recovered" potentially by next quarter. ree other metros are close as well, including Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida; Nassau County-Suffolk County, New York; and New York-Jersey City-White Plains, New York-New Jersey metro areas could make the leap in the next period. e report notes these MSAs are more likely to make the leap in the next couple of quarters. HOUSEHOLD DEBT ON THE RISE e Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Center for Microeconomic Data recently released its Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit, reporting that household debt increased while delinquency rates of several debt types continued to rise. According to the report, total household debt increased by $116 billion to $12.96 trillion in Q 3 2017. LendingTree Chief Economist Tendayi Kapfidze said although household debt is at a high, the financial obligations ratio and household debt service ratios remain favorable because of income growth and lower interest rates. "is favorable picture is dependent on low rates, which may face some upward pressure, but not to an extent we think will put borrowers under significant pressure," said Kapfidze. "It is also dependent on strength in home prices which we expect to continue given tight housing inventory and a strong labor market." Overall, the New York Fed's data found that mortgage debt increased by 0.6 percent, student debt increased by 1 percent, and credit card debt increased by 3.1 percent— while home equity lines of credit (HELOC) balances experienced a decrease by 0.9 percent. Kapfidze added that HELOC balances continuing to fall indicates that homeowners are not accessing their record equity for consumption. Additionally, the share of mortgage balances that were 90 or more days delinquent continued to improve, at 1.4 percent in Q 3, which is a decrease from 1.7 percent at the beginning of 2017, and an improvement from the 8.9 percent high reached in 2010. As 69,580 individuals had a new foreclosure notation added to their credit reports in Q 3 2017, foreclosures represented a new historical low. e report notes that its information is based on data from the New York Fed's Consumer Credit Panel, a nationally representative sample of individual and household-level debt and credit records drawn from anonymized Equifax credit data.