By Aglaia Pikounis

 Loan refinancing activity has boomed recently. Nearly 19,000 single-family home loan refis were recorded in February.

That’s a 22 percent increase from a year earlier and a huge improvement from late summer and fall.

Refi activity slumped from August to December when there were fewer than 10,000 refis a month, according to The Warren Group.

In January, the numbers jumped, with a total of 13,547 single-family home loan refis.  In February, that number climbed to 18,952 – almost triple what it was in November.

Low mortgage interest rates are luring more homeowners to refinance.

Federal efforts to enable property owners who have a high loan to value ratio to take advantage of the attractive rates could also boost refi activity.

Not surprisingly, purchase mortgage activity has been on a downward trend since last June as home sales declined.

A total of 1,485 purchase mortgages for single-family homes were recorded in February, the worst February in at least five years.

About 20 percent fewer loans were recorded in February than a year earlier.

By Aglaia Pikounis

Here’s one thing people searching for a new home in this spring market might want to keep in mind: the difference between home prices and condo prices has shrunk significantly in recent years.

 The median single-family home price in Massachusetts was only $30,000 more than the median condo price in 2008.

So far this year, the median home price is about $34,000 more than the median condo price, according to The Warren Group.

That’s a big difference from the scenario buyers faced just four years ago.

Back in 2005, the median price for a single-family home peaked at $355,000, which was $72,000 higher – or about 25 percent more — than the median condo price of $283,000.

That meant that many home searchers looked at condos as the more affordable option, and condos became a key gateway to homeownership for many Bay State residents.

Today, home prices have dipped enough that owning a single-family home is within reach of more home buyers.

By Aglaia Pikounis

Federal and state official announced yesterday that they were cracking down on foreclosure rescue scams and loan modification fraud.

That’s surely welcome news in cities like Springfield and Worcester, where thousands of desperate borrowers are trying to save their homes.

Lenders initiated the most foreclosures in those two cities during the first two months of 2009.  Springfield had 201 petitions to foreclose – that’s more than three property owners a day who entered the foreclosure process.

In Worcester, there were 183 foreclosure petitions.

“For millions of Americans, the dream of homeownership has become a nightmare because of the unscrupulous actions of individuals and companies who exploit the misfortune of others,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement yesterday.

“The Department of Justice’s message is simple: if you discriminate against borrowers or prey on vulnerable homeowners with fraudulent mortgage schemes, we will find you, and we will punish you,” Holder said.

Hopefully, this latest effort will prevent Bay State homeowners from becoming the victims of greedy scammers who grab hefty upfront fees with promises of loan modifications.