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Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff on teaming with the White House for discussions on refinancing options.
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-- good news on the housing front one might hope.
Mortgage rates hitting a new record low of 3.5 6% foreclosure filings are down 11% for the first half of the year vs.
This time last year this is all according to really -- realty -- a -- -- measures these things.
But there's still a whole lot of work to be done and -- the White House is teaming up with zillow.
To help those struggling to pay their mortgages returned -- -- CEO zillow Spencer brass cop mr.
rest cop thank you so much for being here.
Why you did the White House approach you in your firm zillow to help get the word.
Out here.
Well they are trying to get the word out homeowners that there are programs that exist to help them mitigate this horrible housing crisis and they've come as no where the largest real estate website -- 35 million people every -- that use our website.
And that's that help be a megaphone for us to tell people about these programs that exist so -- don't you mean running my -- Well it's a complicated issue and there are just a lot of different a lot of confusing messages that are being spoken to the homeowners so.
I -- for example when the first version of harp rolled out two years ago.
You had to be no more than 25%.
In a negative equity position in order refinance under -- one Otto.
And so the government hopes that four -- five million homeowners would be a -- take advantage of that program only about a million did.
They then earlier this year change the harp program to remove the negative equity requirement and now it's starting to show some effect so.
According to the White House about a third of all refinance applications now are coming through harp a year ago it was one out of ten so it started have some impact but.
It's hard to get the word out to homeowners that these programs -- -- In your press materials you guys say the discussion we'll highlight refinancing options -- -- responsible homeowners can take advantage of low interest rates.
A lot of key into the responsible homeowners issue because there are.
So many people who are underwater on their mortgage payments and really just keeping them in their homes is delaying the inevitable they will foreclosed.
So how are you finding and how -- you zeroing in on those responsible homeowners who do have a chance.
To restructure their financing and stay in their homes and who deserve to stay in -- house.
-- in order to qualify for harp refinance you have to have been current on your payments for six months.
-- Mozilla's this says that 90% of those that are upside down on their loans are actually current on their payments so as long as your current on your payments.
Even if your upside down on your loan you can refinance under harp.
Now the confusing part.
Is individual loan servicers have their own requirements which may differ from of the government's harp -- so for example.
Some loan servicers require you to have a certain credit score in order to qualify for refi under -- So there's a lot of information and resources at zillow dot com slash underwater -- -- we haven't tools there that help you figure out if you can call.
-- I would ask you real quick before you run out of time according to the realty track surveyed it came out this morning 31 states -- year over year increase in foreclosure starts this month.
Is the foreclosure problem getting worse instead of -- right now.
-- -- -- Getting worse but it's not really getting better either so the way I look at it is home values are down 25% from the peak.
And we're basically at the bottom but really struggling said kind of find our footing so some markets some parts of the country are still declining like Atlanta and Detroit and other parts of the country.
Are significantly improve like San Diego so it at this point the real estate story is really very local story on the foreclosure front -- on the home value front.
Sorry Spencer thanks so.
