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The U.S. House and Senate yesterday restored FHA loan limits to the level they were at before they were allowed to expire at the end of September. As a result, the limits will rise to 125 percent of the area median home price from 115 percent, up to a maximum $729,750 from $625,500. Several hundred counties where FHA loan limits fell at the end of September will now rise back up to the previous level. (…)

Foreclosure Starts in California were little changed in October, after a dramatic increase in August and subsequent fall in September. Other California foreclosure activity was also little changed in October. California foreclosure investors gained traction with 9.9 percent more properties sold to third parties in October, representing a record 28.8 percent of all foreclosure sales. A year ago just 16.9 percent of foreclosures were purchased by third parties. (…)

In the third quarter, the number of U.S. home owners who owe more than their homes are currently worth continued to rise, according to new housing data.

Borrowers with negative equity on their homes increased to 28.6 percent — that’s up from 26.8 percent in the second quarter and 23.2 percent a year prior.

“We still have very high negative equity rates; that’s putting extreme pressure on households because temporary job losses translate into foreclosures at much higher rates when the household is in negative equity,” Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist, told Bloomberg.

Recent statistics show that home values dropped from the previous three months in 105 of the 157 housing markets, according to its most recent Home Value Index. The cities bucking the trend and posting some of the largest gains were Detroit, Boston, Denver, and Pittsburgh, according to the index.