Here’s some good news: Mortgage originations in Massachusetts were up 28 percent during the first four months of 2012, the Warren Group reports. Some other areas of New England also fared well.
From the Warren Group:
“The housing market has rebounded recently with single-family home sales volume increasing in nine of the last 10 months,” said Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. “More home sales translate to more purchase mortgages. But the real story is the increased volume of refinance mortgages. Low interest rates and a revamped federal program called Home Affordable Refinance Program are making lower monthly payments possible for many more homeowners.”
Bottom line: Lower monthly payments reduce the number of people under water — thus helping them hang on to their homes, thus reducing the number of people foreclosing, thus relieving downward pressure on prices, thus stabilizing the market, etc. You get the picture.
File under: Good news
