Memphis among riskiest mortgage markets

Memphis Business Journal - November 14, 2006
Memphis is on the list of five top markets for mortgage risk and fraud.

The Memphis MSA ranked No. 4 among the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S., according to CoreLogic, a risk management provider to the mortgage banking industry.

Memphis is an at-risk market for economic consequences of increased mortgage risk and fraudulent activity over the next 18 months, the report stated.

CoreLogic's third quarter analysis of 379 MSAs lists Akron, Ohio, Dayton, Ohio, Detroit, Memphis and Cleveland, Ohio, as the top five at-risk markets.

CoreLogic analyzes geographic areas with a high likelihood of residential loan performance issues leading to negative economic consequences for communities.

"This quarter, the CMRM risk index posted its eighth consecutive quarterly increase," said CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming in a statement. "However, while mortgage risk levels remain relatively high, we are seeing a stabilizing housing market characterized by decreasing house price appreciation and a slower increase in the risk index,"

The company says mortgage risk may appear in markets that have experienced strong house price appreciation or in markets experiencing economic stress or lack of house price appreciation.

Sacramento, Calif.-based CoreLogic provides collateral risk-analysis and management technology to the U.S. mortgage banking industry.