Shadow inventory—or pre-foreclosures—have dropped by more than a third since August of last year, Lenders Processing Services reports in the “first look” data from its August Mortgage Monitor.
Shadow inventories have now fallen to its lowest point in four-and-a-half years. Shadow inventory was once deemed a big threat to derailing the housing recovery, but that threat has been vanishing. The shadow inventory now represents 2.66 percent of all homes with a mortgage in the country, compared to 4.04 percent a year ago. Mortgage Rates Roll Back to July Levels:
For example, homebuilder KB Home has had average prices for its new homes soar 23 percent annually. Lennar has raised the average price on its new homes by 16 percent annually in the third quarter, now averaging $291,000. The average price of all existing homes was $258,000, 
Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, rose 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.48 million in August from 5.39 million in July. They're also 13.2 percent higher than the 4.84 million-unit level in August 2012.
Construction starts on single-family homes rose 7 percent in August, reaching its highest point in six months, according to the Commerce Department. 
The move-up buyers are coming with larger down payments on new homes as recent improvements in home equity levels have allowed them to move. 
The August report showed that home prices continue to make strong gains while the number of underwater home owners has dropped by 42 percent since the beginning of 2012. The number of home owners who owe more on their mortgage than it is currently worth has dropped from 12.1 million to 7.1 million as of the second quarter of 2013. Home sales—for existing homes and new homes—
Housing inventories were just 2.5 percent below levels from a year ago, according to realtor.com® in its latest housing report released Thursday, which includes sale listings from more than 800 multiple-listings services nationwide. In February, housing inventories had reached a low point, but are now up more than 24 percent from that time. August marked the sixth consecutive month for increases in inventories. 
Foreclosure starts in August were at the lowest level since December 2005 and were down 44 percent from a year ago. Thirty-eight states saw a decrease in foreclosure starts last month, including both nonjudicial and judicial states. In Colorado, foreclosure starts were down 80 percent alone, and foreclosure starts dropped 66 percent in Massachusetts and by 65 percent in Arizona. 
The study, which appears in the American Journal of Preventive Health, found that children living in smart growth neighborhoods get 10 extra minutes of physical activity per day.
A sharp rise in home prices helped 2.5 million more mortgage borrowers eke out from being underwater in the second quarter, according to the latest report from CoreLogic. By the end of June, 14.5 percent of mortgage borrowers remained underwater on their loans, compared to 19.7 percent at the end of the first quarter. In late 2009, that percentage stood at 26 percent. 
“Steadily rising home prices are lifting all boats in this housing market and should spill over into more inventory of homes for sale in the coming months,”
Investors have been cooling on the market recently because of rising home prices and a more limited inventory of distressed properties. Investors made up 16 percent of home buyers in June, a drop from 22 percent in February, according to the National Association of REALTORS(R). Instead of continuing on a home-buying spree, investors are now focusing on making sure the houses they have snatched up are profitable and occupied by renters, CNBC reports.
Home prices nationwide rose 12.4 percent year over year in July, according to the latest report by CoreLogic. That marks the 17th consecutive month of growth in homeprices. 
The index rose to its highest reading since 2003, which is the year the index began. 
New, softer proposed criteria for qualified residential mortgages (QRMs) include a question about whether regulators should reinstate a down payment restriction, with an even more stringent ratio of 30 percent. The 're-proposal' did not actually include a down payment requirement; but some of the discussion signals that the agencies could possibly restore some kind of down payment restriction in a final rule.