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Quote of the Day
"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind it won't get much better. There's no money out there now. It's very difficult to borrow. Credit markets are tight." - David Freed, president of Aim Mortgage in Florida. (Bradenton Herald, Jan. 1st)
Foreclosure Data
- Foreclosure Filings Leap In Triangle (News & Observer, Jan. 3rd): "North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts: Foreclosure proceedings were filed against 7,390 homeowners in Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties last year, an increase of 14.7% compared with 2006. Statewide, foreclosure filings rose 9.4% to 49,754... Filings increased 20% in Wake County to 4,461 and 11% to 7,943 in Mecklenburg County. In New Hanover, where many oceanfront homes are sold, filings rose 27% to 714. Elsewhere in the Triangle, Durham County filings rose 9.1% to 1,707; Orange County declined 7.5% to 258; and Johnston County rose 8.2% to 964."
- Foreclosures Rise By One-Half In Monroe County (Times Leader, Jan. 3rd) Northeastern Pennsylvania: "Monroe County Prothonotary George Warden: Foreclosure filings hit a record 1,253 last year... a 50% increase over the 835 filings in 2006, and a one-third increase from the previous record of 941 set in 2003. State and Congressional hearings have been held in Monroe County on allegations including inflated appraisals and onerous loan terms that can get buyers in over their heads... Some, including Warden, point to the greater impact of soaring gasoline prices in an area where many people are long distance commuters to jobs in New Jersey and New York."
- Palm Beach County Foreclosures Triple (Palm Beach Post, Jan. 3rd): "Palm Beach County's foreclosure rate skyrocketed to one for every 45 households in 2007, figures from the county clerk's office show. That's nearly three times the foreclosure rate of 2006, when there was one foreclosure filing for every 128 households in Palm Beach County, according to the county clerk's figures... For comparison, the most recent U.S. foreclosure rate is one for every 617 households, according to RealtyTrac. In Palm Beach County, the clerk's office recorded 13,962 foreclosure filings in 2007, compared with 4,831 in 2006, an increase of 189%."
- Mixed Messages About Maine Mortgage Foreclosures (Lincoln County News, Jan. 2nd): "MaineBiz magazine reports the number of home foreclosures nationwide doubled during the 12 months through September 2007 to 223,538. According to these sources, early figures suggest the fallout hasn't affected Maine as severely as many other states. But Wiscasset based Coastal Enterprises, Inc.'s Carla B. Dickstein... cites the Center for Responsible Lending, which projects foreclosures using a cohort of loans where the adjustable rate mortgages were made. "They project about 16% foreclosures in Maine statewide from these loans and feel it is a conservative projection. Their numbers are based on Moody's [Investors Service] projection, which is a very respectable resource."
- Ingham County 2007 Foreclosures Way Up (WILX News, Jan. 2nd) Michigan: "[This year saw record foreclosures in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties... Ingham County's Treasurer Eric Schertzing: Ingham [issued] 1757 sheriff's deeds in 2007. That's up from 1312 in 2006 and nearly double 2005's 789. In 2000, the total was 380."
- Area Foreclosures Not Ending (Bradenton Herald, Jan. 1st): "Manatee County [had a] record-shattering 2,620 foreclosures for 2007... [This year] Very Reyna, an assistant supervisor in the civil division at the Manatee County Courthouse... has processed almost three times the previous record of foreclosures - which was 901 in 2002... "I don't see it getting better anytime soon," Reyna said. "Give it a whole other year. With the whole adjustable rate loan thing, people usually have a two-year time frame to get a better fixed rate. I think there are still a few of those people out there searching."
- Foreclosures Down Here (Lancaster Online, Jan. 1st) Pennsylvania: "The number of sheriff's sales of foreclosed properties in Lancaster County is the lowest in nine years, according to courthouse records. As of Dec. 21, there were 366 property deeds sold back to mortgage lenders from sheriff's sales in Lancaster County, compared to 378 during the same period in 2006. Sheriff's sales are down significantly from 2003, when almost 500 properties were sold... Home values in the county continue to rise, bucking the national trend... The average selling price for a home in Lancaster County until November this year was $195,000, 4.3% ahead of the $187,000 average for the first 11 months of 2006."
- How Life Worked Out For 4 Bay Area Homeowners Facing Foreclosure (San Francisco Chronicle, Dec. 31st) California: "DataQuick Information Systems: From January through November, lenders repossessed almost 10,000 Bay Area homes and sent more than 33,000 notices of default, indicating the first stage in the foreclosure process... Experts now predict as many as 2 million more foreclosures nationwide over the next 18 months."
- Foreclosures Hit Record High In 2007 (Boulder County Business Report, Dec. 31st) Colorado: "A total of 1,256 foreclosures were filed in Boulder and Broomfield counties in 2007 - a record-high year for the area. The number surpassed the previous record of 1,080 foreclosures in 1988... Boulder County recorded 1,004 foreclosures, and Broomfield County recorded 252 foreclosures in 2007. In Boulder County, foreclosures are up 28% from a year ago. They are up 428% from... 190 in 2000... On the final day of the year, 29 foreclosures were filed within Boulder County. That rush pushed December 2007 to 116 filings - the worst single month of foreclosures in Boulder County history."
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