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34 | Th e M Rep o RT o r i g i nat i o n s e r v i c i n g a na ly t i c s s e c o n da r y M a r k e t ORIGINATION LocaL Edition impacted housing affordability in California, forcing some buyers to delay their home purchase," said CAR President Kevin Brown. "However, next year, home price gains will slow, allowing would- be buyers who have been saving for a down payment to be in a better financial position to make a home purchase." The median home price in the state in 2015 is forecast to rise 5.2 percent to $478,700, less than half the 11.8-percent increase expected for this year. The forecast ap- preciation rate is the slowest in four years, CAR said, reflecting improvements in housing inven- tory and investors' diminishing market presence. The slowdown in price ap- preciation, coupled with an expected minor increase in mortgage interest rates to an average 4.5 percent for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, are anticipated to help boost sales. "While the Fed will likely end its quantitative easing program by the end of this year, it has had minimal impact on interest rates, which should only inch up slightly and remain low through- out 2015," said CAR VP and Chief Economist Leslie Appleton- Young. "This should help moderate the decline in housing affordability we saw occur over the past two years." Continuing a trend recorded over the last few years, the San Francisco Bay area is expected to outperform the other regions of the state, owing its growth to a more vigorous job market and tighter supply conditions. "All the top metros have homes selling in less than 70 days and a low ratio of foreclo- sure sales," O'Grady said. In contrast, the bottom 10 markets have much larger inventories—between six and 21 months—and a higher percentage of foreclosure sales, according to O'Grady. At the bottom of the list were Jacksonville, North Carolina; Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Youngstown- Warren-Boardman, Ohio- Pennsylvania; Lakeland-Winter Haven, Florida; and Gary, Indiana. ids reports spike in Heloc document volume Document volume has alreaDy surpasseD 2013. UTAH // International Document Services, Inc. (IDS), a Utah-based mortgage document preparation vendor, reported a spike in home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) through the year's first three quarters. Based on document volume data, IDS says its customers have already drawn more HELOC loan docs than they did through the entirety of 2013, putting this year on track for a 65-percent annual increase if trends keep up. The increase comes even as other loan types hold steady. According to IDS' data, conventional and Federal Housing Administration loan document draws year-to-date have increased nearly 5 percent over last year's first three quarters, while Veterans Affairs and rural loan doc draws are up around 10 and 17 percent, respectively. "During a time of declining volumes industry-wide, IDS has seen the exact opposite," said IDS EVP Mark Mackey. "Our loan doc volumes continue to increase year over year, and that's due in large part to steady requests from existing customers, as well as business from new customers. At IDS, we strive to make docs the least stressful part of the lending cycle, and we're thrilled to be able to assist in our customers' successes." What's true for IDS' customers seems to be true for the industry as a whole. According to a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, homeowners opened $120 billion in new HELOCs in the 12 months ending in August, marking a 27-percent increase in volume. "Rising home prices have certainly encouraged borrowers to tap into their homes' equity," Mackey said. "Because so many people were able to take advan- tage of the relatively low interest rates over the past few years, they are now highly incentiv- ized to stay in and improve their existing home."