Foreclosures Overwhelm Urban Renewal Efforts [Housing Tracker]

Foreclosure Data 

Mortgage Crisis Reverses Tide of Urban Renewal. “Baltimore, Maryland: On Reservoir Hill, just north of downtown, one of this city's most hopeful revitalization projects is falling apart. Over the past two years, 95 properties have fallen into foreclosure. On one dismal street, three blocks of apartment buildings and rowhouses -- many freshly renovated -- stand vacant… Eighteen months ago, Reservoir Hill was a prime example of the progress that cities across the country have made reclaiming blighted neighborhoods as a nationwide housing boom helped lure homeowners and chase away crime. Now the mortgage crisis threatens to reverse those gains as foreclosures multiply, house prices plunge and vacancies rise.” (Washington Post, July 22^nd) 

Indymac Action Helps State Families. “The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Monday it has suspended all of IndyMac's pending foreclosure cases across the country, giving families, including hundreds in Connecticut, more time to restructure loans and keep homes… According to the state Judiciary's Web site, IndyMac was part of 255 cases filed in Connecticut in 2008, including 39 in Bridgeport Superior Court. It was not clear whether all are foreclosures, but a sampling found most of them are. The number of foreclosures IndyMac filed in Connecticut in the years prior to 2008 were also in the hundreds.” (Connecticut Post, July 22^nd) 

Bank of America Corporation F2Q08 (Qtr End 06/30/08) Earnings Call Transcript. Joe Price, CFO: “Our first and foremost goal is to keep people in their homes as opposed to going through the foreclosure process and so if you look at our restructuring then to our workouts as a percent of total people that go delinquent, they are increasing as a percentage of the total. But having said that, the number of customers going delinquent is also increasing. From an actual foreclosure standpoint our foreclosure process and taking on REO and distributing REO the numbers are actually increasing i.e. we are in fact distributing more properties or selling more properties, but the inflow of properties into that is still accelerating at a slightly higher pace and so net net we’re seeing growth in the foreclosed property category if you were to look at any point in time given where we are in this cycle.” (Seeking Alpha, July 21^st)

Foreclosure Rate Dips After Record-Breaking Climb. “RealtyTrac: The foreclosure rate in Delaware dropped 18% in June after seeing a record-high increase in May. But July is shaping up to be another bad month as the interest rates on more adjustable rate mortgages throughout Delaware increase, said Gerry Kelly, deputy state bank commissioner. Locally in New Castle County, there are a few foreclosure hot spots, but most of the major problems are downstate, Kelly said. He expects the foreclosure rate to remain high until next spring, when many adjustable rate mortgages will settle into a steady rate.” (Community Pub, July 21^st) 

Local Foreclosures Are In A Holding Pattern. “Foreclosure data provider ForeclosuresMass.com: Massachusetts foreclosure filings dropped 85% in June from a year ago, largely because of a recent change in foreclosure regulations… June had 351 filings because of the mandated extension before foreclosure action can be filed in Land Court, a drop of 85% from the 2,343 petitions filed in June 2007. [Recently-enacted] foreclosure regulations [mandate] a 90-day cooling off period before foreclosure proceedings can begin in court… Jeremy Shapiro, president and cofounder of ForeclosuresMass.com: “Massachusetts foreclosures are in a holding pattern, but the low numbers of filings we’ve seen over the past two months will end within the next four to six weeks.” (Boston Globe, July 21^st) 

Gov Announces Foreclosure Relief Plan In Stockton. California:“First-time home buyers will be eligible to receive some extra help from the state if they are looking to purchase a home in the neighborhoods hit hardest by the recent foreclosure crisis. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger… announced that $200 million in loans will be available to those looking to buy their first home… Loans will be distributed in zip code areas that have reported high numbers of foreclosures. This includes area in San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced and Riverside counties... Homes must fall at or under the agencies price limits and families must meet income requirements.”  (Lodi News, July 21^st)

Stretch SUV Carries Shoppers On Tour Of Foreclosed Homes. “Mortgage Bankers Association: About 2.5% of all loans across the country were in foreclosure at the end of Q1’08 [vs.] 2% in Q1’07. In Washington state, the association reported about 0.9% of all loans were in foreclosure at the end of Q1’08. Tri-cities housing market: The June notices brought the yearly total to 434, a 10% increase over the 393 notices of trustee sale during H1’07. Through June 2006, Benton-Franklin Title reported 360 notices of trustee sale, which equates to about a 9% increase in 2007.” (Seattle Times, July 21^st)

Higher Gas Bills May Push More Into Foreclosure. Minnesota: A spike in home-heating costs this winter may be high enough to put some out in the cold… Center Point Energy expects a 35%-45% hike in natural gas costs… Some housing experts believe that when combined with increased gas and food costs, it may be enough for some homeowners to face foreclosure. Center Point Energy said it's bracing for the highest gas cost hike since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Some fear the higher gas costs could mean some families may lose their homes.” In Minnesota alone, more than 150,000 customers still haven't paid all of their bills, totaling more than $63 million in delinquent gas charges.”  (KSAX, July 21^st)

Another Foreclosure Site to Go Nationwide. “Within the next 30 days, a Web site that has been educating prospective investors for several months about the defaulted first mortgage markets in Southern California and one county in Nevada plans to go national and compete more directly with some of the better-known foreclosure sites like RealtyTrac.com, ForeclosureRadar.com and Foreclosures.com. Foreclosure Trackers, a five-year-old company… launched its site last fall. CEO, Robert Lee: [The] company is drawing from a variety of sources, including county and bank records, from which it will aggregate and process data on its site about foreclosed mortgages and homes across the country.” (Builder Online, July 18^th)

 

Seeking Alpha's Housing Tracker is a collection of housing-related excerpts from various sources, grouped by topic. Feel free to post any interesting links on the subject in the comments section below.

Get Seeking Alpha's housing market coverage by email -- it's free and takes only seconds to sign up.

Comments

[rm:]

[Now the mortgage crisis threatens to reverse those gains as foreclosures multiply, house prices plunge and vacancies rise.]

Don't despair. The federal government has $4B to ensure that these vacant homes are well-maintainted, and we'll be able to fix up a lot more houses that people don't want/can't afford.

Everything will be okay.

2008 Jul 24 08:49 AM

[Did U Think...:]

Where did the gov't get that 4B from? They printed it out of thin air.

No, it won't be OK dummy. Get a clue.

2008 Jul 25 01:24 AM