Open House by Jim Woodard

Home values increased by an average of 0.5 percent in March, compared with the previous month. However, at $146,200, the national median home value was still down 0.5 percent quarter-to-quarter and 3.1 percent from a year ago, estimated researchers at real estate information portal Zillow.

The report revealed that national home values are back at 2003 levels, or 24.6 percent below the May 2007 peak of $193,800.

"Unlike most home-price indexes, which track sales prices, the Zillow Home Value Index relies on automated valuation estimates generated by Zillow for single-family residences, condominiums and cooperatives, regardless of whether they sold within a given period. At the national level, this Home Value Index reflects the median price of all homes in the U.S. expressed in dollars," it was noted in a Zillow report.

Other reports by credible organizations are also reporting rising home prices.

For example, in a March 2012 housing report released by RE/MAX, home prices rose for the second month in a row on a year-over-year basis.

The report included 53 metro areas and found the median price in March was $184,525, a 7.3 percent price increase from February, and a 5.8 percent increase from a year ago. A consecutive increase on a year-over-year basis has not occurred since August 2010, according to the report.

Americans on average expect home prices to jump 1.3 percent over the next year, according to Fannie Mae's April 2012 National Housing Survey.

Ten housing markets that were hit particularly hard by the recession will record double-digit price increases through 2013, according to another report. "With mortgage rates at record-low levels, many home seekers have already started to pounce on bargains," said David Stiff, chief economist at Fiserv, a financial analytics company, to REAL Trends.

"Some markets may have overshot to the downside, and people are jumping in to try to catch the bottom," Stiff said.

Yet another report, this one from Truila, reveals that, nationally, housing prices have bottomed and are on the rise. Asking prices on for-sale homes were 1.9 percent higher in April than one quarter ago.

"A 0.5 percent month-over-month rise in April, on top of month-over-month price increases in March and February, makes for three months in a row of rising asking prices, after adjusting for typical seasonal trends. In fact, prices have been stable or rising for the past eight months, except for a dip in December 2011," according to the report.

"This marks a new milestone: asking prices were 0.2 percent higher in April than a year ago. Before April, prices were still falling year-over-year."

Q: Do most people who refinance take extra cash for themselves?

A: No. In fact, in the first quarter of this year, 79 percent of homeowners who refinanced their first-lien home mortgage either maintained about the same loan amount or lowered their principal balance by paying-in additional money at the closing table.

Of these borrowers, 58 percent maintained about the same loan amount, and 21 percent of refinancing homeowners reduced their principal balance. The share of borrowers that kept about the same loan amount was the highest in the 26-year history of the analysis.

"Cash-out" borrowers, those that increased their loan balance by at least five percent, represented 21 percent of all refinance loans. The average cash-out share during the 1985 to 2008 period was 50 percent, reported PRNewswire and Freddie Mac.

Q: Is the delinquency rate on home mortgages growing?

A: No. The national mortgage delinquency rate is at its lowest level since the first quarter of 2009, according to a report from TransUnion. Delinquencies finally dropped during the past quarter after two consecutive quarterly increases.

"The national delinquency rate, which includes borrowers 60 or more days past due, is 5.78 percent for the first quarter of 2012, a quarterly and yearly drop when the rates were 6.01 percent and 6.19 percent."

Q: Can military homeowners benefit from the Home Affordable Modification Program?

A: Beginning June 1, military homeowners who are permanently displaced by a job-related move may still be able to be considered owner-occupants when applying for HAMP. This change means more people could become eligible for the government's modification program, thus assisting more struggling homeowners.

To find out more about Jim Woodard and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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