Distressed

A Jacksonville, Ill., church facing foreclosure has a new lease on life after months of fundraising.

A new financial technology company called Scratch is planning to use a new web-based platform along with an alternative pricing model to compete with companies that service mortgages and other consumer loans.

The mortgage delinquency rate dropped to its lowest level in 12 years despite foreclosure starts and active foreclosures both increasing in July, according to Black Knight.

More flip-and-fix property buyers seek financing for their purchases as fewer distressed homes come on the market and sales margins narrow, said Attom Data Solutions.

Delinquencies for loans securing commercial mortgage-backed securities continued to decline, although they are still well above rates for other types of investors, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A decade after a collapse in the housing market triggered the 2008 Great Recession, South Florida still has many homeowners who owe far more money than their property is worth.

July's year-over-year increase in foreclosure starts for 44% of the nation's metro areas is a result of looser underwriting standards and a sign of future growth in defaults, said Attom Data Solutions.

Foreclosures on Metro Orlando homes are up 23% from July 2017, though the numbers are still well below the peak of the recession, and local sales agents say there's not much impact in the market yet.

Foreclosures, short sales and other troubled properties continue to dwindle in central Ohio, according to a report from the Columbus Realtors trade group.

The gap between equity-rich homeowners and mortgage borrowers who are seriously underwater narrowed in the second quarter, highlighting the uneven nature of the housing market's recovery since the Great Recession.