Archive for the 'Foreclosure Crisis' Category

A growing number of banks and lenders are delaying bank forclosures activity and this troubled industry experts who claimed that the trend will not benefit cities with weak housing markets.

Six jurisdictions in the Washington region and the Metropolitan Council of Governments are applying for federal funds that will help stem the tide of bank owned homes sale in the area. The funds are under the Obama Administration's Neighborhood Stabilization Program aimed at helping neighborhoods across the country severely affected by the foreclosure crisis.

The Senate Banking Committee recently held the hearing, titled "Preserving homeownership: Progress needed to prevent foreclosures." One of the highlights of the hearing was Chairman Chris Dodd of the Senate Banking Committee's venting of his frustration over what to him is a lack of progress on bank owned foreclosures prevention efforts.

Last month's 4,702 existing home sales in Las Vegas, Nevada topped the June 2004 record of 4,414. This development created some excitement within the residential real estate market which is hoping for some signs that may point to a housing market recovery. But industry experts pointed out that bank foreclosure property is a major threat to the housing recovery market.

A growing number of condominium developers are trying to stave off the effect of the growing number of discounted properties on bank foreclosure listings by auctioning off and offering discounts on properties.

A growing number of American families who lost their homes to bank owned foreclosures are placed in motels or homeless shelters. Most homeless people are crowding out shelters which forced some states and cities across the United States to find alternative housing.

A homeownership survey showed that home buyers are motivated to buy bank foreclosure homes because of low interest rates and property prices. The survey indicated that 65.2 percent of potential homebuyers are driven by affordability to hunt for bargain-priced foreclosure properties.

Foreclosure causes undue stress to everyone, even to housing counselors. In Chicago, Illinois, where the number of Bank Owned Foreclosures continues to soar, homeownership consultants, as they are known professionally, even worked during Saturdays to cope with the growing number of distressed homeowners who need help to remain in their properties.

It used to be that many neighborhoods in Mesa, Arizona are inundated by abandoned and vacant foreclosed properties, an everyday reminder of the housing market collapse and economic downturn.

The sales pace of foreclosed houses for sale and other residential properties is being influenced by the loan limits imposed by the U.S. Federal Housing Administration, based on a study of residential real estate sales nationwide.

A panel of consumer advocates and government officials told participants at the National Association of Real Estate Editors conference not to expect an end to bank forclosure listings anytime soon.

Florida neighborhoods severely affected by the foreclosure crisis may find revitalization soon with an initiative funded under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

Properties on bank foreclosure list still have a significant share in home sales, with one out of three houses sold last month was a repossessed home.

Luxury homes are starting to sell in San Francisco Bay Area, California. The area's real estate market, which was once dominated by bank owned homes sales, is seeing its median price increased by 12.3 percent last month from the previous month.

For the first five months of this year, the office of Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard has seen an almost 35 percent increase in the number of distressed homeowners who complained against fraudulent bank owned foreclosures prevention schemes.