Homeownership:
Information on Foreclosed FHA-Insured Loans and HUD-Owned Properties in Six Cities
RCED-98-2: Published: Oct 8, 1997. Publicly Released: Oct 22, 1997.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Contact:
(202) 512-7631
contact@gao.gov
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
youngc1@gao.gov
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO looked at early foreclosures in Chicago, Illinois; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas, Texas; Baltimore, Maryland; and San Bernadino, California focusing on: (1) comparing early foreclosure rates on Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured single-family loans made in low-, medium-, and high-income areas nationwide and in the six cities; (2) comparing across income areas the proportion of loans made in the six cities by FHA-approved mortgage lenders with and without early foreclosures; (3) factors that influence early foreclosure rates; and (4) comparing the length of time the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-owned single-family properties remained unsold in low-, medium-, and high-income areas in the six cities. GAO did not attempt to evaluate the soundness of mortgage underwriting decisions or the impact of vacant homes on neighborhood conditions because of the methodological difficulties that a broad examination of these issues would present.
GAO noted that: (1) GAO's analysis of the FHA-insured single-family loans made during calendar years 1992 through 1994 nationwide and in the six cities showed that early foreclosures occurred infrequently but that early foreclosure rates were higher for low-income areas than for either medium- or high-income areas; (2) the early foreclosure rate for low-income areas nationwide was 0.45 percent (i.e., 4.5 early foreclosures occurring for every 1,000 mortgages insured) compared with 0.30 percent and 0.21 percent for medium- and high-income areas, respectively; (3) although this pattern prevailed in the six cities, there were also differences from one city to another; (4) for four of the cities--Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, and Washington, D.C.--lenders with early foreclosures made a larger proportion of their loans for properties in low- and medium-income areas and a smaller proportion of their loans for properties in high-income areas than did lenders that did not experience early foreclosure; (5) in San Bernadino, however, lenders with early foreclosures made a smaller proportion of their loans for properties in low-income areas and a larger proportion of their loans for properties in high-income areas than lenders without early foreclosures; (6) in Chicago, lenders with early foreclosures made a smaller share of their loans in medium-income areas than lenders without early foreclosures; (7) various factors influence the probability of early foreclosure; (8) GAO's analysis of the FHA-insured loans made in calendar years 1992 through 1994 in the six cities indicated that loans made for homes in poorer census tracts, smaller loans, and loans with higher loan-to-value ratios or higher interest rates were associated with higher probabilities of early foreclosure; (9) as of December 31, 1996, HUD held a total of 1,374 properties in its inventory in the six cities GAO reviewed; (10) GAO's analysis did not identify a pattern in the median time that these properties remained in HUD's inventory in different income areas; and (11) however, in five of the six cities and for the six cities combined, the proportion of properties that had been in inventory for more than 6 months was greater in low-income areas than in either medium- or high-income areas.
Feb 16, 2021
-
Military Housing:
DOD Has Taken Key Steps to Strengthen Oversight, but More Action Is Needed in Some AreasGAO-21-389T: Published: Feb 16, 2021. Publicly Released: Feb 16, 2021.
Jan 25, 2021
-
Military Housing:
Actions Needed to Improve the Process for Setting Allowances for Servicemembers and Calculating Payments for Privatized Housing ProjectsGAO-21-137: Published: Jan 25, 2021. Publicly Released: Jan 25, 2021.
Dec 16, 2020
-
Lead Paint in Housing:
HUD Has Not Identified High-Risk Project-Based Rental Assistance PropertiesGAO-21-55: Published: Dec 16, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2020.
Dec 15, 2020
-
Disaster Housing:
Improved Cost Data and Guidance Would Aid FEMA Activation DecisionsGAO-21-116: Published: Dec 15, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 15, 2020.
Dec 8, 2020
-
Troubled Asset Relief Program:
Treasury Continues Winding Down Housing ProgramsGAO-21-39: Published: Dec 8, 2020. Publicly Released: Dec 8, 2020.
Aug 13, 2020
-
Homelessness:
Better HUD Oversight of Data Collection Could Improve Estimates of Homeless PopulationGAO-20-433: Published: Jul 14, 2020. Publicly Released: Aug 13, 2020.
Jul 29, 2020
-
Crumbling Foundations:
Extent of Homes with Defective Concrete Is Not Fully Known and Federal Options to Aid Homeowners Are LimitedGAO-20-649: Published: Jul 29, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 29, 2020.
Jul 27, 2020
-
Housing:
Preliminary Analysis of Homeownership Trends for Nine CitiesGAO-20-544R: Published: Jun 25, 2020. Publicly Released: Jul 27, 2020.
Jun 26, 2020
-
Rental Housing:
As More Households Rent, the Poorest Face Affordability and Housing Quality ChallengesGAO-20-427: Published: May 27, 2020. Publicly Released: Jun 26, 2020.
Apr 30, 2020
-
Priority Open Recommendations:
Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentGAO-20-500PR: Published: Apr 23, 2020. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2020.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here