No respite, yet: US foreclosures rise 65 percent in April

From Housing Wire:

Foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank
repossessions — were reported on 243,353 properties in April, a 4 percent
increase from March’s total and a nearly 65 percent increase from one year
earlier. The data, reported Wednesday by foreclosure marketplace and data firm
RealtyTrac, shows that the housing market has yet to cycle through a
preponderance of bad mortgages.

“The total number of U.S. properties with foreclosure activity in April was the highest monthly total we’ve seen since we began issuing the report in January 2005,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

“Although only about 2 percent of households nationwide are in foreclosure, these properties contribute to already bloated inventories of homes for sale, and put downward pressure on home values.”

Georgia was again in the top ten states with the greatest number of foreclosures, ranking seventh overall, with one out of every 422 homes affected.

Photo: Button, originally uploaded by d-stop.

Foreclosures increase for the seventh consecutive quarter

From Forbes:

The number of foreclosures filed by US homeowners increased sharply for the
seventh consecutive quarter, according to a private sector report released
today.

In the three months ending in March, the number of foreclosures
totaled 649,917, up 23 pct from the previous quarter and 112 pct from the first
quarter of 2007, California-based RealtyTrac said.

The report, from RealtyTrac, shows that foreclosures, which were already at record highs, have more than doubled from this time last year. The statistics count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported during the quarter and show that there is no immediate end in sight to the rising numbers of foreclosing properties.

From the Atlanta Business Chronicle:

Georgia’s first-quarter foreclosures skyrocketed 80 percent, while metro
Atlanta’s jumped 69 percent, according to RealtyTrac’s Q1 2008 U.S. Foreclosure
Market Report released April 29.

Georgia ranked sixth in first-quarter
foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank
repossessions — with 28,503. This is a 79.9 percent increase over the first
quarter of 2007 and a 22.5 percent rise over the fourth quarter of 2007. One out
of every 136 Georgia households got a foreclosure notice in the first quarter.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta/Sandy Springs/Marietta metro area had 22,554
foreclosures in the first quarter, putting it at 16th among major metros. The
area’s foreclosures were up 68.7 percent over the first quarter of 2007 and 13.7
percent over the fourth quarter of 2007. One out of every 91 metro households
got a foreclosure filing in the first quarter.

Atlanta’s numbers do show a lesser increase in year-over-year foreclosures than the national rates – but the immediate future still remains bleak. Foreclosure rates are indicative of past problems, and each foreclosure filing today represents a borrower who fell behind in mortgage payments months ago.

Foreclosure rates also are forward-looking: while a number of the properties with loans in default will be cured before the actual foreclosure sale, it’s a good bet that the majority will not. More than likely these properties will end up back with the lender, only to be listed and resold as REOs several months in the future.

If we take it that the great bulk of mortgage foreclosures can be attributed to adjustable-rate mortgages, then as more and more of those loans adjust, we can expect foreclosure rates to continue increasing. With the peak of these loans not resetting until later this year, it is more likely than not that the record rates of foreclosures will continue.

Photo: Foreclosure,Wheaton MD, originally uploaded by chip py the photo guy.

Foreclosures Jump

More bad news from RealtyTrac: foreclosure filings increased 57% in March 2008, compared to last year’s levels. Foreclosures also are up 5% from February, showing that the housing market is continuing to slide.

Leading the nation were Nevada and California. It is Nevada’s 15th consecutive month as the state with the most foreclosures.

Year-to-year, the number of properties repossessed by mortgage lenders has increased 129%.

Georgia is still among the states with the most foreclosures, with only Nevada, California, Florida, Arizona and Colorado with higher foreclosure rates. One in every 351 Georgia households received a foreclosure notice. Georgia also totaled 11,047 homes in foreclosure – the fourth-highest in the nation.

Again, as a lawyer for real estate investors, the story remains the same: investors should plan on these levels of foreclosures continuing for the foreseeable future.

one would., originally uploaded by antimethod (cole rise).

Mixed News: Foreclosures

RealtyTrac, the online marketer of foreclosure properties, has just released their report detailing nationwide foreclosure filings in February.

Last month, foreclosures fell 4% from January’s levels, but there was a 60% increase from February 2007.

As a closing attorney for real estate investors, we are definitely seeing the effects. More and more of our clients are buying REO properties and funding those acquisitions with hard money. We’ve also seen a dramatic increase in the number of short sales prior to foreclosure.

What we’re seeing less of these days: mortgage reinstatements.

The RealtyTrac report seems to indicate that all of the recent governmental efforts to help borrowers avoid foreclosure aren’t really helping.

Again, investors should plan on these levels of foreclosures continuing for the foreseeable future.

Photo: R ------------------------------------> L, originally uploaded by johanna.

Foreclosures Skyrocketing

RealtyTrac just released January’s foreclosure report, and the number of homes in some stage of foreclosure rose 57 percent from January of last year.

And it does not appear that the foreclosure train is showing signs of slowing down anytime soon; - the rate of foreclosure filings rose 8 percent from December.

As James J. Saccacio, the chief executive officer of RealtyTrac noted: "January's foreclosure numbers demonstrate that foreclosure activity is continuing on its upward trend, substantially increasing from a year ago in many states"

Georgia ranked in the top ten of states with the highest foreclosure activity, with over 10,000 reported properties in some stage of foreclosure.

As a closing attorney who works with investors, what do I think we can, and should, take from this?

First: while a number of governmentally-sponsored foreclosure prevention plans have been enacted, they do not seem to be having any effect on the overall number of foreclosures.

Second: these monthly increases in foreclosures should not surprise anyone, and will most-likely continue as more and more adjustable-rate mortgages reset to higher rates.

Third: Increasing number of foreclosures represents an increasing number of REO properties on the market that investors will have to compete with as they try and sell their properties.

Fourth: Increasing number homes in foreclosure means that there are more potential deals out there, and investors can really take their time and cherry-pick the best ones.

Photo: Toodle pip! Off to Amsterdam!!!, originally uploaded by columbo's dad.