Considering the unprecedented economic downturn focused on the housing market, VHFA wanted to better understand the values of the homes underlying its single-family mortgages. It’s clear Vermont has among the lowest delinquency and foreclosure rates, but how VHFA-financed properties were faring was important to understand.
The Agency hired a third-party expert in home valuation, First American Core Logic, to provide an unbiased estimate of the value of VHFA’s active single-family portfolio. The results were astounding:
- The estimated value of VHFA’s total portfolio has increased 24% since the loans were originated
- 77% of the 4,780 active properties increased in value, 22% decreased in value, and 1% saw no change
- Of the loans where the home’s estimated value rose, the median increase was 33%
- Of the loans where the home’s estimated value dropped, the median change was just -4%
- 64% of loans have current loan-to-value rates below 80%, making them extremely low-risk to the agency