Silver Linings: Lessons From the Housing Crisis on Homeowner Distress

A new report from Attom Data Solutions says distressed sales are down to 12.5 percent of all sales in the market, the lowest percentage since 2007.

In a statement to MarketWatch, Attom Vice President Daren Blomquist explained, “There was a sense that it was financially smart to cut their losses and just walk away, but in many areas of the country we’ve seen home prices exceed their pre-recession peaks. If they could have just stuck it out they would have built wealth.”

The innovation and technology that’s being harnessed to make applying for a mortgage easier and more up-to-date should also be applied to servicing distressed mortgages, they said. “This is the time to make sure we don’t lose what we learned,” said Dave Lowman, Freddie Mac’s head of single-family business.

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