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Quote of the Day
"Homelessness is up hugely now because of foreclosures." - Rachel Calabrese of Cross Street, who volunteered for three years with a non-profit organization for homeless in Southeastern Massachusetts. (Sun Chronicle, Dec. 4th)
Foreclosure Data
- A Third Of US Home Loans Delinquent (China View, Dec. 4th): "Federal Reserve Bank of New York study: A third of adjustable-rate subprime home loans in the U.S. were delinquent as of August. The study found that adjustable-rate subprime mortgages had the highest rate of delinquencies and foreclosures. Twelve percent of 26,642 such loans sampled were more than 60 days delinquent and 7% were in foreclosure. Another 13% were less than 60 days overdue, Bloomberg News said."
- Going Once - From Flippers To Families, People Seek Bargains At Delinquent Tax Sale (Times and Democrat, Dec. 4th): "Orangeburg County planned to sell about $4 million in property with unpaid taxes during [a recent] auction. The range of properties included a mobile home starting at $11,500 and a residence valued at $385,000... Orangeburg County Delinquent Tax Collector Shelton Sistrunk said the number of properties available for bidding was about the same as it was last year. However, Sistrunk noted that the interest in the auction was higher than in previous years... Sistrunk said that representatives from Wachovia Bank, based in New Jersey, and TaxEase in Florida were present to make bids on property in the county."
- Foreclosures Increase For New Loans, Studies Show (Daily Report, Dec. 4th) Georgia: "Atlanta Legal Aid Society: The majority of the record number of Fulton County homes advertised for foreclosure Nov. 6 had mortgages written in the past three years, and most of them were subprime. [Some] 74% of the Fulton foreclosures were on loans made since 2005. Almost half of the loans on homes advertised for foreclosure in November—48%—were from 2006 loans... 10% were from loans made this year. Adjustable rate and balloon mortgages accounted for 67% of the total Fulton foreclosures for Nov. 6... In Fulton, 54% of ARMs in foreclosure were made since 2006, compared to only 37% of the fixed rate loans."
- Mass. Subprime Business Shrinks Amid Spike In Foreclosures (Boston Herald, Dec. 3rd): "Many Massachusetts homeowners with subprime mortgages [can't] find new lenders to refinance as they seek to avoid foreclosure. Eight of the ten largest subprime mortgage specialists in Massachusetts are no longer lending in the state. Massachusetts Federal Reserve Bank president Eric Rosengren, says that the only two such lenders still operating in Massachusetts are Option One Mortgage and First Franklin Financial... The Warren Group, publisher of real estate data, says the number of foreclosure deeds filed in Massachusetts through October this year is nearly triple the rate at the same point a year ago."
- Rise In Foreclosures In Greene County Adds To Ranks Of Homeless People (KY3.com, Dec. 3rd) Kentucky: "The number of homeless Ozarkers is growing... The numbers tell the story: Foreclosures in Greene County were up 20% this November, compared to last November, and they’re up 45% so far this year. They’re up an astonishing 324% from a decade ago."
- Foreclosures, Permits Point To Ongoing Slide (Colorado Springs Gazette, Dec. 3rd): "Colorado Springs: November foreclosures... year-to-date totaled 3,106 — the highest in 20 years... El Paso County's... yearly foreclosure record of 3,476 [was] set in 1988. In 1987, foreclosures totaled 3,240... Pikes Peak Regional Building Department report: Single-family homebuilding permits in El Paso County, a yardstick by which to measure construction activity, totaled 115 in November, a 26.8% decline compared with November 2006. Through November, Springs-area single-family permits totaled 2,053 or a nearly 38% reduction when compared with the same 11-month period in 2006. With December to go, it’s likely this year’s permit total will be the lowest since 1,154 in 1991."
- Record Home Foreclosures Cause Snow Removal Problems (KSTP, Dec. 3rd) Minneapolis: "The snow brings a new problem with the high number of foreclosures in the Twin Cities. All those empty homes mean no one is around to clear the sidewalks... In Minneapolis, there are 50% more homes in foreclosures this year than last. In St. Paul, there are four times more vacant homes than in 2006... If a sidewalk stays covered in snow for more than a day, a letter is mailed to the address... If there are no homeowners to pay the snow removal costs, it will be forwarded to the bank that owns the foreclosed home."
- Others Are Worse Off Than S.D. In Real Estate (Sign on San Diego, Dec. 2nd): "Despite the past year's triple-digit jump in foreclosures and loan defaults in San Diego County and double-digit drops in home prices in quite a few neighborhoods... there are a lot of people who are worse off than we are. In last week's U.S. Council of Mayors study, San Diego did not even make the Top 50 list of communities that will be hurt by the decline in home prices next year... It ranked 88th in a roster of 362 metropolitan areas nationwide. Which still puts us at the bad end of the scale, but nowhere near the worst."
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