Everyone is pushing hard to get good numbers out to the public to curb fears that the real estate market is rebounding and that foreclosures are slowing down. October marked the third straight monthly decline of foreclosures. The great news is that foreclosure prevention programs are helping many borrows. The bad news is that foreclosure prevention programs are delaying foreclosures and skewing the numbers to make the situation look better that it really is. Lenders have been delaying foreclosures as they might qualify for the federal loan modification program.
We need to keep a very close eye on the unemployment numbers through the 2009 holiday season and I hope we do not see a massive surge in foreclosures in the first half of 2010.
Foreclosure filings are still up 19 percent from a year ago, RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday, and rising job losses continue to threaten the stabilizing trend. More than 332,000 households, or one in every 385 homes, received a foreclosure-related notice in October, such as a notice of default or trustee’s sale. That’s down 3 percent from September.
Banks repossessed more than 77,000 homes last month, down from nearly 88,000 homes in September.
Nevada has the nation’s highest foreclosure rate for the 34th month in a row, followed by California, Florida, Arizona and Idaho. Rounding out the top 10 were Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Maryland and Utah.
Among cities, Las Vegas had the highest rate, the report showed. One in 68 homes there received a foreclosure filing in October, more than five times the national average. Seven of the top ten metros were in California, led by Vallejo and Modesto at No. 2 and 3.
After three years of declines, home prices reversed course in June and have been rapidly climbing month-over-month. This will rebuild home equity and reduce the number of borrowers that owe more than their homes are worth.
Still, foreclosures remain near record highs and the mortgage industry is still struggling to manage the onslaught. The government has had to push many lenders to participate in the Obama administration’s loan modification plan.
The Treasury Department said Tuesday that more than 650,000 borrowers, or 20 percent of those eligible, had signed up for temporary trial plans lasting up to five months. But since the beginning of September, only about 1,700 modifications had been made permanent. The Treasury Department expects to release updated data later this month.
Congress last week also extended and expanded a key federal tax credit for homebuyers that has been credited for boosting home sales recently.
Buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years are eligible for tax credits of up to $6,500, while first-time homebuyers – or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years – would still get up to $8,000. To qualify, buyers have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010, and close by June 30.
Northwest Florida has been posting strong sales numbers for real estate transactions, however we are not seeing are price growth and do not expect to until mid 2010.
If you are a troubled homeowner, please give us a call for a confidential consultation about the possibility of a short sale. Please give Tracy Baranowski a call at 850.259.4270 or Craig Baranowski at 850.259.1788 or email us @ info@teambaranowski.com. Team Baranowski has a 100% success rate for all of our short sales for 2009!
