Existing home sales on the rise and further gains in home construction hint at the fact that the U.S. economy is continuing to get stronger, according to the Associated Press.
Furthermore, builder confidence has reached its highest level in six years. While sales and construction rates are still below what economists consider healthy levels, they added that the improvement has nonetheless been steady.
"We have a real housing recovery taking root, and that has positive implications for the broader economy," Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets said to the news source. "If home prices continue to rise, so, too, will household wealth and consumer confidence."
With existing home sales going up, lenders would be well-advised to have loan management software available in order to create a quality payment plan for borrowers. Even as the economy works its way back to the top of the global market, it's crucial that mortgages meet the needs of both sides of the lending spectrum.
This blog has previously mentioned that many homeowners have been struggling with their current mortgages. However, a recent report by the Department of Housing and Urban Development said that the U.S. government may have paid hundreds of millions of dollars in mortgage aid to Americans that did not need it.
According to the agency's inspector general, the standards for the Preforeclosure Sale Program were not followed closely enough. The program used government aid to cover the shortfall for qualified homeowners who had to sell their homes for less than they owed on their mortgages.
The Washington Post reported that the inspector general randomly selected 80 cases and found that 61 failed to meet the criteria of "unavoidable" financial crisis.
With this information, lenders should definitely ensure they have an amortization calculator available so the right type of monthly payment plan is created for each borrower.