CA Foreclosures in Q1 Lowest Since Q2 2007
DQ News --"The number of California homes entering the formal
foreclosure process during the first quarter declined to its lowest
level in almost five years, the result of a more stable economy and
housing market, as well as policies that increasingly favor short sales.
A total of 56,258 Notices of Default (NODs) were recorded at
county recorders offices during the first quarter of this year. That
was down 8.5% from 61,517 for the prior three months, and down
17.6% from 68,239 in first-quarter 2011. Last quarter's tally of 56,258 NODs was the lowest since
53,943 NODs were recorded in second-quarter 2007. NOD filings peaked in
first-quarter 2009 at 135,431.
"Prices peaked five years ago and then started to fall off a
cliff. Foreclosure activity goes up when property values decline, and
the worst of that decline was happening three years ago. Right now,
property values in many areas appear flat," said John Walsh, DataQuick
president.
"A few years back, there were some breathtakingly negative
forecasts making the rounds regarding the foreclosure problem, some of
which have played out, and some of which haven't. The
'shadow supply' has yet to result in a second huge wave of foreclosures.
The 'reset problem' hasn't really materialized, largely because
interest rates are resetting down, not up. And, remarkably, whole
batches of presumed
'toxic' mortgages continue to perform. There's no doubt that housing,
especially negative equity, is one of the biggest drags on a struggling
economy, but it's not necessarily playing out the way some pundits
thought," he said."
4 Comments:
i liked this line:
The most active "beneficiaries" in the formal foreclosure process last quarter were Bank of America (10,419), Wells Fargo (7,577), Bank of New York (5,380) and JP Morgan (5,343).
“To reach the conclusion that there will be a wave of foreclosures, you have to assume that the banks either want to foreclose – they don’t – or will be forced to foreclose – they won’t. In September 2008 the rules of the game were changed to help the banks remain solvent, and since then it has been in their best interest to find reasons to delay foreclosures through whatever means necessary. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
Sean O’Toole of Foreclosure Radar
Lenders don’t want to foreclose because they don’t want to recognize the losses, and now with nearly two years of declining prices since the expiration of the tax credit in May of 2010, lenders have another reason not to foreclose: their REO were causing prices to go down. Since last fall lenders have been putting fewer and fewer of their REO on the market to reduce MLS inventories and reverse the downward course of prices.
SoCal residential markets have stabilized, outside on inland areas, and some appreciation even.
You can check it on Redfin, Trulia or any number of real estate information services.
The Fed needs to get a lot more bullish btw.
I guess if we keep posting positive real estate stories we are bound to be right one of these years. How many of you are lining up to purchase CA properties?
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