Distressed

Distressed mortgage servicing costs are falling and that's primarily due to the market's stability, but it also reflects improved efficiencies that may help in a weaker economy.

Alabama is fourth in the country for raw vacancy rate with more than 18% of all housing units in the state empty.

Corporations that own California properties could soon be fined for keeping homes vacant for more than three months under a proposed law to give tenants, nonprofits and cities more say over what happens to empty buildings.

For the first time in 15 years, fewer than 2 million mortgaged properties lie in default or foreclosure status as of the end of January, according to Black Knight.

Despite a healthy economy and booming real estate market, 2.2% of Orange County, Calif., mortgages were "seriously underwater" at year's end, Attom Data Solutions says.

The city's Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion program, born out of the recession in 2008, has prevented nearly 14,000 foreclosures by working with lenders and homeowners to lower mortgage payments.

Mortgage delinquencies dropped to a 40-year low in the fourth quarter as strong employment bolstered borrowers' ability to make timely payments, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The city's decision to drop a lawsuit alleging predatory ending by Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup highlights the challenges municipalities face in taking on deep-pocketed financial institutions.

Default rates for prime jumbo mortgages will increase, but a strong economy and rising home prices will bail most borrowers and lenders out, Moody's said.

Foreclosure activity during 2019 fell 21% from the previous year, but a few indicators show a change in direction could be possible, according to Attom Data Solutions.