Are homeowners who are in foreclosure or at risk of losing their homes increasingly filing for bankruptcy as a last ditch effort to save their homes?

The Warren Group recently reported that bankruptcy filings in Connecticut jumped 20 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2009. The increase in bankruptcy filings comes as foreclosures have jumped 37 percent statewide. There were 3,010 foreclosures in the first five months of the year compared to 2,191 during the same months last year, according to The Warren Group.

It doesn’t necessarily mean the two are tied together. After all, renters can file for bankruptcy protection too.

But filing for bankruptcy protection can temporarily halt the foreclosure process, and can also give homeowners some more money and time to catch up with missed mortgage payments. Attorneys often recommend it to clients who are desperate to save their homes. With a Chapter 7 filing, unsecured debt – like credit card bills – is dismissed. But consumers are still on the hook for mortgages, which are secured debt.

Filing for bankruptcy protection, can help a homeowner who has steady employment by reducing the number of bills they have to pay, ultimately freeing up cash for monthly mortgage payments.

With a Chapter 13 filing, a consumer can repair their finances and come up with a court-approved payment plan – usually over three to five years. In such a filing, a judge can eliminate second mortgages, such as home equity loans, if a home value has dipped below the first mortgage amount.

Has Connecticut’s luxury home market made a permanent comeback, or is the recent uptick just a temporary blip?

Sales of $1 million-plus single-family homes statewide have more than doubled in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2009, according to a new report by Commercial Record Staff Writer Colleen Sullivan. The report attributes the spike to more favorable rates for jumbo loans.

The super high-end has fared even better. Sales of homes with price tags of $3 million and higher have actually tripled, according to statistics from The Warren Group.

Are the lower jumbo rates the key factor, or is confidence in the housing market and the overall economy driving factors? Of course, the jump might seem so sharp because last year home sales in the high end were really dragging.

And should we expect to see an increase in the second half of the year?

If I built a new house for myself, I know what would automatically be on my wish list: a large, functional kitchen that’s easy to clean and fits my large family during holiday gatherings.

Not surprisingly, that’s what a lot of homebuyers seek. Large kitchens featuring islands tops the list of 10 must-have features in new homes, according to an annual survey of homebuyer preferences conducted by AVID Ratings Co. That’s followed by granite countertops, energy-efficient appliances and a home office/study.

You would expect to find those things on the list, but a few other features on the list, like “outdoor living room”, are questionable.

I’ve drooled over some spectacular outdoor living spaces, complete with state-of-the-art kitchens, fireplaces and even high-definition flat-screen televisions, on HGTV. Some of these spaces have been created with budgets of $80,000 or higher.

Of course they’re gorgeous, but I’ve always wondered how such spaces are maintained and protected by the elements. In New England, where we tend to have long, cold and wet winters, how would such an outdoor space stand up to harsh weather?  

Plus, in New England you’d be lucky if you could use the space two or three months out the year. I can’t see spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to use a space for only two months out of the year, or worse, seeing it destroyed after a brutal winter.

The other item on the “must-have” list is master suite soaker tubs. Sounds perfectly luxurious. But honestly, how many people have time to use the soaker tub? I’d take an oversize shower over the soaker tub any time.

What’s happening to homeowners who’ve sought a home loan modification through the federal Home Affordable Modification, or HAMP?

More than a third of the 1.24 million trial loan modifications made through May under the program have been canceled, according to federal authorities.

But the federal government claims that borrowers who end up with a canceled loan modification either end up with another loan modification or become current on their loans.

Even those who end up with loan modification under HAMP may still face trouble, according to a startling report released just a few days ago. Fitch Ratings predicts that most homeowners who’ve received a loan modification through HAMP will default within a year. The redefault rate within a year is likely to be 65 percent 75 percent under HAMP for loans that aren’t backed by the federal government, according to Fitch.

That’s tough news for many states, including Connecticut, which have seen foreclosure activity increase this year. Foreclosures have jumped 37 in the first four months of the year, compared to the same period in 2009, according to The Warren Group.

The only bright news, if you can call it that, is that the number of lis pendens filings by lenders to start foreclosure proceedings against property owners has remained relatively flat. There were 9,839 lis pendens flings from January through April, up about 1.7 percent from 9,669 a year ago.

The good news: fewer Connecticut homeowners fell behind on their mortgages in the first quarter compared to the prior quarter.

The bad news: the delinquency rate actually climbed from the same period in 2009. That’s according to the Mortgage Banker Association’s most recent delinquency report.

The MBA reported that the delinquency rate for residential mortgage loans in Connecticut in the first quarter was 8.31 percent, down from 9.36 percent in the fourth quarter, but up from 6.81 in the first quarter of 2009.

The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate nationwide rose for every loan type in the first quarter — except for Federal Housing Administration loans, according to the MBA. The delinquency rate for FHA loans actually fell 48 basis points from a year earlier to 13.15 percent.

In fact, American Banker reports that the delinquency rate on single-family mortgages insured by the FHA has actually fallen in each of the last three months.

That’s surprising given the big jump in FHA loans. FHA lending now accounts for 30 percent of all residential mortgages written. That’s up from just 3 percent in 2006.

The foreclosure problem won’t be going away anytime soon. Federal officials said this week that more trial home loan modifications offered to struggling homeowners are being canceled.

The U.S. Treasury said 277,640 trial loan modifications were cancelled in April compared to 155,173 in March. Why?

Mortgage servicers are disqualifying borrowers who have not met the income documentation guidelines or who can’t keep up with the reduced monthly payments under the modified loans.

Apparently, the federal program known as the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP, will require homeowners to prove that they have the income to qualify for a mortgage modification starting in June. In the past, mortgage servicers and lenders were taking the word of borrowers that they had a certain income level in order to reduce their mortgage payments.

This comes as Connecticut’s foreclosures spiked in the first quarter. There were 2,166 foreclosures statewide in the first three months of the year, a 54 percent jump from 1,410 during last year’s first quarter, according to The Warren Group.

Connecticut’s housing market got a boost in the first quarter, according to new statistics from The Warren Group.

No where was this more evident than in the upscale communities of Darien, Greenwich and Westport – home to affluent businessmen and all sorts of influential VIPs.

In Greenwich, single-family home sales more than tripled in the first three months compared to a year earlier. A total of 90 single-family homes sold, up from just 29 in the first quarter of 2009, according to stats from The Warren Group.

The median home price dipped, almost 2 percent to about $1.32 million from $1.35 million.

In Westport – once home to Martha Stewart  —  home sales jumped 76.7 percent to 53 from 30 last year. The increased sales didn’t lead to a higher median home price. The median home price tumbled 8.6 percent to $949,900 from almost $.104 million a year earlier.

In contrast, Darien’s median home price surged in the first quarter. The median price for homes sold in the first quarter jumped 39 percent to $1.27 million $912,500 a year earlier. Home sales activity also increased significantly during that timeframe.

There were 37 home sales transactions in Darien in the first quarter, a 68 percent increase from last year.  

A new poll shows that Americans think now is the time to buy a house. 

More than 60 percent of respondents to a Fannie Mae survey said it was a good time to buy.

And judging from the latest housing report from The Warren Group, so do Connecticut residents.  

The Warren Group reported that sales of single-family homes shot up 27 percent, while condo sales jumped about 20 percent in February compared to a year earlier.

Prices for both also climbed by about 4 percent.

Ridgefield, Woodstock, Haddam, Killingly, New Haven and Windsor had impressive gains in single-family median home prices in February, according to The Warren Group.

In the affluent New York City suburb of Ridgefield, the median price for single-family homes sold in February ballooned 62 percent $600,000 from $370,000 in February 2009.

In rural Woodstock, the median home price soared 56 percent to $252,900 from $162,310.

All the other communities experienced year-over-year price increases of between 45 and 52 percent.

If the last two to three months are any indication, Connecticut’s high-end housing market could be in for some significant gains this year.

A total of 300 single-family homes with prices tags of $800,000 and higher traded from December through mid-February, according to The Warren Group. That’s more than double the 141 homes that sold in that price range during the same period a year earlier.

Just about half the homes priced $800,000 and more that have sold in the last two months have been concentrated in the upscale communities of Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich and Westport.

Confidence is returning in the housing market and the homebuyer tax credit has helped boost sales volume. Agents say there’s been some pent-up demand from homebuyers who’ve been too nervous to make a move but are now starting to feel more confident because their stock portfolios and retirement accounts have rebounded.

The Warren Group will release new numbers toward the end of this month and it will be interesting to see what they reveal.

New Canaan apparently has a “hot” housing market.

Brokerage firm ZipRealty reported this week that homes in the upscale town sold for an average of 105.5 percent of list price in last year’s fourth quarter.

There were no other Connecticut towns in ZipRealty’s analysis where homes were selling above the list price. 

The median home price in New Canaan has topped $1 million since 2001, according to The Warren Group.

It rose to more than $1.68 million in 2007, before declining to just over $1.55 million in 2008.

The median price for single-family homes sold in the first 11 month of 2009 fell to about $1.3 million, according to The Warren Group.

For people who can afford it, New Canaan is surely a “hot” housing market. For most other people, it’s just a ritzy town where housing costs are way out of reach.