Foreclosures and mortgage delinquency data from two articles, one at CNNMoney and the other an Associated Press release say that foreclosures have been declining, but there was a surge month-to-month in August.
Foreclosures
Though August foreclosures were 33% lower than they were in August of 2010, filings were up 7% from July. It’s the seventh straight month of year-over-year declines, according to RealtyTrac. 228,098 homes in the U.S. received some kind of foreclosure notice in August.
A CNNMoney article says that lenders repossessed 64,813 homes in August. Foreclosure filings surged 33% from July to August according to CNNMoney.
However, filings were down 37% from a peak in September 2010. In August, 84,405 homes were scheduled for auction. Nevada, California and Arizona are still the states with the greatest problems.
Default Warnings
As the fallout from the robo-signing scandal seems to be abating, and bank foreclosure activities get back on track, banks are stepping up their actions against homeowners. The number of homes that received an initial default notice, the first step in the foreclosure process, jumped 33% from July to August. This represents a nine month high and the biggest monthly gain in four years.
One analyst states that it probably isn’t a blip, but more likely the beginning of a trend. The banks seem to have reached a point where they believe that their documentation procedures are repaired and will stand scrutiny after the robo-signing scandal slowdowns during the last year. Some lenders stopped foreclosure actions completely for a period, and others have slowed their processes significantly. It appears that they may be getting back on track.
The large backlog of properties has allowed many homeowners to remain in their homes though severely behind on payments, as much as two or more years in many cases. In all, 78,880 properties received a default notice in August. Though it was a sharp increase from July, it was down 18% versus August of 2010. Some state-specific numbers for increases in notices:
- California +55%
- Indiana +46%
- New Jersey +42%
Banks are now on track to repossess 800,000 homes this year, down from more than a million last year. Nevada still leads the nation, with one in every 118 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice in August.
Real estate investors continue to benefit from high inventories of low-priced housing and record-low interest rates.
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An ill-wind blows, just not too hard.
Dqadmin2:
While the rate of foreclosures are slowing down on a month-to-month basis, there are still weak pockets in every market. And, I have a background in currency trading, the strength of the various currencies do not lend themselves providing for a change in the unemployment levels. Which is the key to vacating the over supply of foreclosed properties.
In other words, the buffet is still open for now. Plus, the time that I'm counting on is just about upon us. The end of the year clearence sale for REO's. The banks have a glut of properties to clear off of their books. Prepare to dine well my friend.