More Than 1,000,000 Homes In Foreclosure [Housing Tracker]

Quotes of the Day

"I'm just not liquid." - Former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield denying that he is broke or that his $10 million, 54,000-square-foot home with 104 rooms in Fayette County, GA, will be foreclosed and auctioned off by the bank on July 1st. (U.S. News & World Report, June 9th)

"If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens ... A couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that ... You want everything to be perfect but that combination of the economy, I have a little injury, I have a situation and it all came together." Actor Ed McMahon, 85, on Larry King Live. (Reuters, June 6th)

Foreclosure Data

State Law Slashes Foreclosure Rate, For Now. “Massachusetts foreclosures have plummeted to a more than two-year low, but experts see the drop as temporary… Market tracker the Warren Group: Lenders initiated just 390 Bay State foreclosures last month. That’s an 88% drop from April’s 3,327 filings, as well as the first time since January 2006 that lenders launched fewer than 1,000 foreclosures a month. However, observers attribute the pullback to a May 1 law that gives delinquent homeowners three months to pay up before foreclosures can occur. Experts suspect lenders simply delayed most May foreclosure filings three months until August.” (Boston Herald, June 10th)

Over One Million Homes Now in Foreclosure. “MBA’s National Delinquency Survey: The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties stood at 6.35% of all loans outstanding at the end of Q1’08 on a seasonally adjusted basis, up 53 basis points from Q4’07, and up 151 basis points from Q1’07. The delinquency rate includes loans that are at least one payment past due but does not include loans in the process of foreclosure. The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process was 2.47% at the end of Q1, an increase of 43 basis points from Q4’07 and 119 basis points from Q1’07.” (Originator Times, June 9th)

Gov. To Sign Foreclosure Bill. Ohio: “Gov. Ted Strickland is expected to sign state legislation this week requiring sheriffs to automatically record deeds within 14 days of a judge signing off on a foreclosure sale. The goal: to stop homes – and some homeowners – from ending up in a legal limbo in which, on paper at least, no one owns the home. When that happens, properties deteriorate, lawns go unmowed and cities don’t know who to cite. Sometimes the former owners get socked with fines or bills, even after they’ve lost the property.” (Cincinatti.com, June 9th)

Avoiding Foreclosure: Borrowers Have Options. “According to a recent survey by Roper Public Affairs and Media, 57% of the nation’s late-paying borrowers didn’t know their lenders offered resources and alternatives to help them avoid foreclosures.” (Originator Times, June 9th)

Dayton, Ohio’s Foreclosure Ground Zero. “In a four-block area of Dayton, Ohio, 45 homes foreclosed and were sold at a sheriff’s auction. On one block alone, 15 of 28 properties were sold at auction. Some homes are abandoned, boarded up, burned out or now occupied by drug dealers. Dayton’s dwindling population and high amount of abandoned residences, buildings and vacant lots is costing the city $12.4 million in lost tax revenue and city services. Maybe Dayton should follow Youngstown’s plan of razing thinly populated blocks.” (Zillow Blog, June (9th)

Who Dropped the Ball? “Banks and other mortgage lenders are turning out to be lousy neighbors. Foreclosed homes featuring brown lawns and fetid swimming pools litter the Las Vegas Valley because the lenders that hold title have failed to keep the properties up. The epidemic is especially acute in neighborhoods regulated by homeowners associations, whose rules require property owners to maintain their properties... The problems often start before the foreclosure is finalized… The lending companies that collect foreclosed properties are, at least initially, often unable or reluctant to maintain them, analysts say. The foreclosure process can take up to four months, creating a lengthy gap in ownership.” (Las Vegas Sun, June 9th)

Foreclosed Home Prices Slashed. “Lenders are slashing prices dramatically to rid themselves of an unprecedented number of foreclosed properties, sparking bidding wars in some places that harken back to the market's go-go years and may signal the bottom is near.. Sales of foreclosures, vacant new homes and other distressed properties now dominate some markets... Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com: Nationwide, one out of every four sales between January-March was a distressed sale, and that figure jumps to more than 50% in the hardest-hit areas like Las Vegas, Detroit and distant suburbs of Los Angeles [and] as high as 90% in some newly built subdivisions, real estate agents say.” (Cincinnati.com, June 7th)

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Comments

[Apostle:]

Geez, I wish we had this kind of housing situation here in Alberta, Canada... Instead, stinking 40-year old bungalows sell in the neighboorhood of half a million dollars...

2008 Jun 11 12:39 AM

[nukldrager:]

Patience Apostle, return to value is like going to work with a huge hangover

2008 Jun 11 08:42 AM

[specks:]

To Apostle in Alberta. Good news for you. Nose bleed territory never lasts too long!!! Time for you to "GET READY."
All of your good times are coming to a head. Yes the province will remain prosperous but a reversion to the mean in oil and housing is due! When the bubbles pop, and they will pop, then those prepared and knowledgable will prosper themselves while the rest panic.
Its already starting in Ontario where I am. Prices are still up but volume of sales has dropped off. Everyone still thinks they're going to make a killing in housing but we're usually a couple of years or so behind the USA.
You do know what's going on there, don't you?
Regards from TO!

2008 Jun 11 10:50 AM

[kurt walter:]

The sooner financial institutions start auctioning everything off no matter the price the better.

2008 Jun 11 12:48 PM

[gwinner:]

Apostle lives in a land of abundant oil and agricultural commodities. Money is flowing to Alberta. There's no relief in site when an uneducated person can get a job on a drilling rig for $1,000/day.

2008 Jun 11 02:30 PM

[specks:]

HOLD ON JUST A MINUTE HERE!!
Why are you picking on the people handling these tough, dangerous, dirty jobs on oil rigsthat are in demand and a real service to society??
Why don't you pick on the boys and girls out of Harvard, Yale or Wharton. You know, the ones taking millions out in salaries, bonuses, and stock options and in the meanwhile the companies they run are being run into the ground! How about Ben or Hank or George and that whole bunch. How about mortgage brokers? How about realestate appraisers and the banks?
I have crossed over. When I see the lies and deceptions of those in position with power to mislead, I am evermore enamored and appreciate good honest work!
Maybe if more thought that way, then we wouldn't be in such a financial mess worldwide. It amazes me when I read about a town in Norway losing millions due to USA subprime mortgages that they really didn't know, apparently, that they were buying.
And how about those hedge fund people. That party's almost over as well. And consider Moody's, Fitch, and Standard & Poors ratings.
So please... give a little thanks to those hard workers on the oil rigs. They didn't do so well when oil was at $10 per barrel.
Let's

2008 Jun 11 03:27 PM