Housing Bottom? Fannie Mae Will not Find Tax Dollars

Evidence is mounting that U.S. home prices finally hit bottom, and now is the best news: Fannie Mae said that for the first time since 2008, does not need money from the Treasury balance books.Fannie Mae, supporters bulk of U.S. home loans, which used to boast that it is safe even from a severe slump in the housing market. To be really tragic. It has attracted $ 117 billion in aid since taken over by federal regulators in the announcement 2008.Fannie 's is good news on two numbers: mean taxpayers do not need to spend money to support Fannie (at least relative to the first quarter may require support in the front). More importantly, another signal that the housing is getting ready to turn Fannie corner.In press release (PDF) about the company's $ 2.7 billion first-quarter profit in its positive developments in the housing market. Credit losses declined due to "lack of a significant decline in home prices, declining inventories of single family real estate owned (REO) properties coupled with increased selling prices and lower REO single-family serious delinquency rates. "National Association of Realtors said today that the average price of home sales increased in the first quarter from a year earlier in 74 of 146 metropolitan areas measured.Another positive sign: Fiserv, which puts the Case-Shiller index of home prices, said on the 8th May that thanks to falling home prices and low mortgage rates, the monthly payment for a median-priced homes represent 12 percent of the median family income, the lowest percentage since records began in 1971. "Almost all non-price measures, existing home sales, the volume of orders increased, the increase in spending on home improvements, multi-family construction surge, indicating that the housing sector hit bottom last year and started along the path of a slow recovery," said David Tough, chief economist for Fiserv, in press release.To sure, millions of homes are still worth less than the mortgages on them. A dark cloud over the market. Today the Federal Housing Administration says the number of FHA-insured loans surged in March. Half of the Mortgage is revised to facilitate the payment terms to default again within a year or so later, Bloomberg News reported.