Bank Foreclosures Sale Articles

San Francisco bank foreclosures are still growing and prices are still falling, based on data released by a San Diego-based real estate research company and by information analyst Fiserv.

In the Bay Area, a total of 18,812 default notices were sent to distressed homeowners in the July to September quarter, an increase of more than 25 percent from the third quarter last year but marked a drop of nearly 6 percent from the previous quarter.

Across California, the number of default notices increased to 111,689 in the third quarter, an increase of nearly 19 percent from last year’s third quarter, but marked a drop of more than 10 percent from the previous quarter.

The quarter-over-quarter declines indicated that loan modification efforts have been working for some homeowners as the Obama administration and other groups continue to push lenders to step up their foreclosure prevention efforts.

Analysts in the area also contend that many banks are deliberately slowing down on their foreclosure actions because they do not want to add more low-priced properties to the already overloaded lists of San Francisco bank foreclosures and they do not want to douse the fragile signs of recovery.

Based on the report, the highest rate of increase in defaults occurred in the wealthiest counties. San Francisco had 607 default notices, San Mateo had 1,263 and Marin had 428. The increase rate in San Francisco was a staggering 72 percent while the increase rates in San Mateo and Marin were 58.5 percent and 65.9 percent, respectively.

Trustee deeds meanwhile in the Bay Area dropped by more than 38 percent from last year’s third quarter to 7,462, but this marked nearly 8 percent of increase from the previous quarter. Statewide, the number of trustee deeds dropped by more than 37 percent from last year’s third quarter to 50,013, but marked an increase of nearly 10 percent from the previous quarter.

Out of all foreclosure homes in the Bay Area, 7,700 houses or 16 percent have not been resold in the third quarter.

According to Fiserv, the current median home price of $675,000 in San Francisco metropolitan area marked nearly 26 percent of total loss in value since 2006. Fiserv expects prices to fall further by another 8.3 percent in 2010 and then starts to gain by a soaring 14.3 percent between the middle of next year and June 2011.

In 20 metropolitan areas across the country, it is cost effective to buy bank foreclosures instead of renting. This is the conclusion of a recent study of housing markets in various metropolitan areas. Industry experts said that in the long run, it is cheaper to buy homes than rent them.

The study was designed to rank 20 metropolitan areas nationwide where it is cheaper to buy bank foreclosures than it is to rent them. In the cities of Detroit, Michigan and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, renters can actually reduce their monthly costs by buying homes instead of renting.

Other cities on the list where buying is slightly expensive than renting included Memphis, Tennessee; Rochester, New York; Cleveland, Ohio; Tampa, Florida; Dallas, Texas; Columbia, South Carolina; Providence, Rhode Island; and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Researchers who conducted the study calculated the ownership costs by assuming a fixed-rate 30-year mortgage for 100 percent of the buying price and no down payment. This method is designed to develop a fair and average matchup between renting and owning.

Researchers said that if they factored in a 20 percent down payment, the result would show that owning a home is a cheaper alternative for 10 metropolitan areas.

Industry experts said that results of the study only reinforced what they have been telling potential buyers for a long time now—that the market is ripe for the picking.

They said that the collapse of the housing market has brought the equation of owning versus renting to a level similar to that before the housing bubble pushed home prices way above the costs of renting. But they noted that the rentals are also dropping now, albeit at a slower pace.

Additionally, experts said that the foreclosure crisis pulled down home prices and values from Riverside, California to Tampa. However, for several months now, housing markets are seeing some increase activity in home buying driven by federal incentive programs such as the tax credit of $8,000 provided to first-time home buyers and the historic low interest rates.

Industry experts said that to buy bank foreclosures now is the smartest investment decision any individual or family could ever make.

San Diego bank foreclosures slowed in September, but mortgage defaults continued to rise as unemployment continued to be above the 10 percent level.

Based on a report from a California based real estate research firm, a total of 1,101 foreclosures were posted for trustee deed sales in September, marking a drop of 7.6 percent from the previous month and a decrease of over 39 percent from September last year.

The number of default notices, meanwhile, increased by nearly 3 percent from August to 2,726 in September. The number was more than twofold than the 1,206 default notices filed in September last year.

Foreclosure postings in San Diego hit their peak of 2,004 in July last year and default notices reached their highest level of 3,832 in March this year.

In contrast to the San Diego trend, foreclosures statewide increased in the July to September quarter. A total of 50,013 foreclosures were posted for trustee sales, marking an increase of 9.5 percent from the previous quarter but a drop of more than 37 percent from last year’s third quarter.

Default notices decreased to 111,689, marking a drop of over 10 percent from 124,562 in the previous quarter but posting an increase of 18.5 percent from more than 94,200 notices sent in last year’s third quarter.

San Diego bank foreclosures that are still in market listings dropped in number to 3,800 units, comprising almost 18 percent of total foreclosures. The percentage marked a drop from the 34.7 percent share one year ago.

Statewide, the number of foreclosure homes that have not been resold dropped to over 57,000 units or 18 percent of all foreclosures, marking more than 50 percent of decrease over the past year.

The researchers observed that foreclosure properties no longer dominate total home sales, but they expect the percentage to climb up again when lenders complete their delayed foreclosure actions.

In the July to September quarter, the number of default notices sent to borrowers in San Diego County climbed up to 8,702, an increase from 7,062 in last year’s third quarter.

The drop in foreclosures was attributed by the researchers to efforts of lenders to regulate the flow of low-priced foreclosures into the market. They know that overloading the market with foreclosed properties will put out the small indications of recovery shown by the market.

Many families in West Michigan who have lost their houses to bank foreclosure listings are driving the number of homelessness in the area. So far, 13,322 people are without homes in West Michigan.
Going around the Heartside District in Grand Rapids at night, one could see homeless people wander at highway underpasses or missions, roaming [...]

Pittsburgh bank foreclosures continue to drop in number as the city continues its successful transformation from a place battered by the collapse of its manufacturing enterprises to a city flying high with its mix of growing steel, biotechnology and clean energy industries.

Home sales in Santa Clara County, California jumped by 17 percent last month, buyed by bank foreclosure properties for sale. The increase in total home sales in September compared with the same month a year ago is due to low mortgage rates and the flood of first-time buyers who want to take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit before it expires by the end of November.

Philadelphia bank foreclosures have not increased in number as fast as in other cities because of various programs launched by the city and the state of Pennsylvania, in addition to the federal loan modification and refinancing programs.

Many homeowners in Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts are on the brink of foreclosures, causing another flood of foreclosed homes in the area. The number of foreclosure filings in the area rose in August. And many lenders are holding off taking over distressed properties for fear that they will be stuck with them.

New York bank foreclosures in the housing sector rose in two foreclosure charts released by an online real estate research firm.

The developer of the planned community development project in Pierce County, Washington has filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to avoid bank foreclosure sales. The Cascadia planned community, touted as one of the largest development projects in the county with 18 years of planning and building, is the latest victim of the current economic crisis that has been sweeping across the country for several years now.