Category Archives: FORECLOSURE/ REO

Will You Benefit From The $25 Billion Mortgage Settlement

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Since the Obama administration has negotiated a $25 billion dollar mortgage settlement with 49 states and the 5 largest mortgage servicing banks, it is not likely to significantly help the vast majority of homeowners in crisis, and here’s why.

“The latest mortgage settlement will have little to no impact on the current real estate market. It is limited to non-government backed loans, which accounts for less than 40 percent of the existing loans. If homeowners can’t afford their homes today the majority won’t be able to afford it tomorrow even under the new settlement. Distressed homeowners need to understand all their options and the associated tax and credit implications,” explained Andee Allen of Coldwell Banker Liberty Realty.

While the five mortgage servicing banks will benefit by release from further state claims due to improperly circumventing procedures prior to moving forward on foreclosure, there is no “typical” outcome for the entire pool of homeowners that suffered the negative impact of robo-signing. Some proportion of homeowners have already lost their home to banks and should expect to receive small amounts of compensation, while others remain in their home or are “merely” underwater and may expect an improvement in loan terms.

Note that individual homeowners still retain the right to legal action despite this umbrella settlement, but their ability to pursue banks as a group, would end. And of course, by not joining together, the power of such remedy is greatly diminished.

The disbursement of the $25 billion dollars

The $25 billion is earmarked for distribution over 3 years, with incentives for giving out a larger proportion of the payout in the first year. Since we know from recent experience that there were significant problems with monitoring and enforcement by governmental authorities for oversight of previous mortgage settlement programs, it is not unreasonable to assume that similar complications will arise. (For example, Moody’s Investor Service, New York, predicted in late 2010 that only 400,000 to 1 million homeowners would be saved from foreclosure by participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program, a fraction of the 3-4 million that the U.S. government had projected would benefit.)

Nonprofits that seek to assist homeowners would do well to get in the game early, to lobby on behalf of households for what they have owing and due, and meticulously attend to what their clients receive (or don’t receive) within the legal timeframe that is set.

The lump sum payment anticipated for each “eligible homeowner” who has actually lost their home, is projected to be about $1,800-$2,000 apiece. The legislation strictly defines what comprises an “eligible homeowner.” It includes borrowers who were not offered appropriate opportunities for loss mitigation, other borrowers whose documents were automatically signedwithout the plaintiff properly producing a note as evidence that they have the right to foreclose, foreclosure victims who were on the receiving end of counterfeit and altered documents, and similar instances of fraud. Homeowners also must have lost their home between January 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011, in order to qualify.

The mortgage settlement provides for $17 billion, to be set aside for principal reduction and other modifications of existing loans, in order to prevent future foreclosures. Three-fifths of this $17 billion is tied explicitly to principal reduction. This was a particular sticking point for mortgage servicers, who argued that due to investor obligations and the fact that such mortgages had already been bundled and securitized to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the stock market, the reduction of principal was not pragmatic. However, in the final negotiation, this compromise would seem to represent a softening of the banks’ position, although how it plays out is anybody’s guess since it “seems that the banks can get credit for the principal reductions they offer rather than have to pay toward the actual settlement penalty.”

Homeowners whose loans greatly exceed the current appraised value of their homes—what is commonly known as being “underwater”—will be entitled to $3 billion of the settlement.

Who the $25 billion loan settlement will not help

The five banks that are participating in the mortgage settlement include Wells Fargo, Citigroup, Ally Financial, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America. Homeowners whose mortgage servicer is not among this group, are out of luck. It is estimated that more than half of all homeowners in America have mortgages with other banks, with Fannie or Freddie Mac, or with the FHA. And in a state like California that is devastated by foreclosure, only 40% of mortgages across the state come from one of the five lenders named above.

However, California and Florida will both greatly benefit from this boon to their housing market. In fact, homeowners in California will get a chunk of change worth about $18 billion, from the mortgage settlement.

Put another way, it is estimated that the settlement may help as many as 1-2 million homeowners whose home value is below the amount they owe on the mortgage. However, one source estimates that there are 11 million homeowners that are underwater.

How would the average Joe fare if he were underwater, but did not miss any payments?

According to Deborah Jacobs of Forbes, the mortgage settlement offers people who are up to date on payments but suffer a valuation below the amount they owe, roughly $3,000 a year in savings by refinancing with the FHA.

How would the average Joe fare if he were delinquent on his mortgage?

This really depends upon how many states actually sign on to the deal, but the law does not provide a specific, minimum amount of mortgage relief by state.

How large is the number of former homeowners that qualify for the $2,000 compensation contained in the mortgage settlement?

About three-quarter of a million families were ousted from their home during the qualifying period, and meet the conditions necessary to receive compensation.

The U.S. Foreclosure Crisis, Beverly Hills-Style

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The dynamics of the residential real estate collapse are very different in elite neighborhoods

The careworn house not far from Santa Monica Boulevard resembles millions of other homes that have been foreclosed on since the calamitous U.S. housing crash four years ago.

Garbage spews from trash bags behind the property. A smashed television leans against broken furniture. A filthy toy dog lies on its side, an ear draped across its face. The garden is overgrown. The house needs a paint job.

Yet the property on North Rexford Drive, Beverly Hills, California, is no ordinary foreclosure.

A sprawling, Spanish-style estate, fringed by majestic pine trees and located near the boutiques of Santa Monica Boulevard, its former owners were served with a default notice in 2010; they were $205,000 behind in their payments on mortgages totaling $6.9 million.

Welcome to foreclosure Beverly Hills-style.

Some 180 houses in Beverly Hills, the storied Los Angeles enclave rich with Hollywood stars and music moguls, have been foreclosed on by lenders, scheduled for auction, or served with a default notice, the highest level since the 2008 financial crash, according to a Reuters analysis of figures compiled by RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide.

As in the default-ravaged suburban subdivisions of Phoenix, Arizona, and Tampa, Florida, plunging realestate prices are the root of the problem in Beverly Hills.

But the dynamics of the residential real estate collapse are very different in elite neighborhoods such as this. The majority of delinquent homeowners here owe more than $1 million. Many are walking away not because they can’t pay, but because they judge it would be foolish to keep doing so.

“It’s a business decision, not an emotional one which it is for normal people,” said Deborah Bremner, owner of the Bremner Group at Coldwell Banker, which specializes in high-end properties in the Los Angeles area. “I go to cocktail parties and all people are talking about is whether it is time to walk away, although they will never be quoted in the real world.”

She said she had seen in Beverly Hills a big increase in “strategic defaults,” in which owners who can still afford to make their monthly mortgage payment choose not to because the property is now worth so much less than the giant loan used to buy it during the housing bubble.

Strategic default is an especially appealing option in California, one of only a handful of U.S. states where primary mortgages made by banks are “non-recourse” loans. That means the loan is secured solely by the property, and banks cannot go after a delinquent owner’s wages or other assets if they default.

Bremner said she helped a client buy a Beverly Hills mansion last year that the prior owner had bought for over $4 million. He decided to stop paying his $3 million mortgage – even though he could easily afford it – when the value of the property had dropped to $2.5 million.

“They were able to comfortably cover the loan,” Bremner said. “They were just no longer willing to see the value of the property drop.”

A huge “shadow inventory” is building of elite homes that are in default but have not been put on the market. Of the 180 distressed properties in Beverly Hills, only 12 are up for sale.

The backlog reflects the pent-up flood of foreclosed properties of all price ranges that are expected to hit the U.S. market this year, especially after five major banks reached a $25 billion settlement last week with the U.S. over fraudulent foreclosure practices.

‘Jumbo’ loans
Across the United States, the largest increase in foreclosures and delinquencies, compared with 2008 levels, is with “jumbo” mortgages – loans too large to be insured by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government controlled mortgage finance providers. Foreclosures on jumbo loans are up 579 percent since 2008, greater than any other form of loan, according to a report last month by Lender Processing Services, Inc.

Strategic defaults are now more likely among jumbo loan-holders than any other type of borrower, according to a report issued late last year by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Nearly 40 percent of delinquencies among non-governmental mortgages, which are mostly jumbo loans, are strategic defaults, the report said.

“Now that these homeowners with jumbo loans are finding out you can do this, more and more are doing strategic foreclosures,” said Jon Maddux the CEO of YouWalkAway.com, which advises homeowners who are “underwater,” the term for those whose loans exceed the value of their home.

Nathaniel J. Friedman, a Beverly Hills lawyer, insists he is not a strategic defaulter – that he never missed a mortgage payment in his life. But he stopped making payments on his five-bedroom, six-bathroom Beverly Hills house on Schuyler Road three years ago.

Friedman, who had mortgages totaling $3 million with the now-defunct Countrywide Home Loans, returned home one evening in January 2009 to find a letter from Countrywide freezing his $150,000 line of credit, which was linked to his second $900,000 loan. His primary loan was $2.1 million. The property is worth about $2 million today.

Friedman says he decided to stop paying out of a sense of vengeance from the moment he received that letter. He has been in negotiations for months with Bank of America, which took over Countrywide after its collapse, to modify the loan.

“I thought to hell with it,” he told Reuters. “Why should I keep feeding a dead horse if the bank has no confidence in me?”

“I was able to maneuver things my way because of the inertia of the banking sector,” Friedman said. He believes the bank will blink first, and eventually modify his loan.

 

 

Source:   Thomson Reuters, www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46411361/ns/business-real_estate/#.Tz1aT8VSSKY

Distress Sales at Near Record Activity

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•  Nearly 4,000 California distressed properties sold last month

•  ‘Foreclosure starts remain near record low levels

Real estate investors started off 2012 with a bang, with sales to third parties, typically investors, rising significantly in January throughout California, according to a new report Tuesday from foreclosure information company ForeclosureRadar Inc. of Discovery Bay.

In California, investors purchased 3,964 properties for $766.2 million last month, it says. Note that trustee sale investors must pay in cash, in full, with no title insurance or inspections prior to purchase. This is the fourth largest month on record in California, and the busiest since March of 2011.

Nevada saw the largest month-over-month increase in the West in foreclosure sales, with investors there purchasing 973 properties for $99.1 million. This increase, coupled with the dramatic decline in new foreclosures that began in October 2011, is quickly depleting the foreclosure inventory that remains scheduled for sale in Nevada. Year-over-year the number of Nevada properties scheduled for sale has dropped 57.6 percent.

Despite what appears to be significant percentage increases in foreclosure starts in California, Nevada and Washington, these increases barely offset the declines seen over the holidays, says the ForeclosureRadar report. Compared to January one year ago, foreclosure starts are significantly lower now — despite the fact that many banks were still under self-imposed moratoriums due to robo-signing last year, it says.

“January’s numbers should put to rest any notion that we will see a wave of foreclosures in 2012, at least in the western states that we cover,” says Sean O’Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar. “Foreclosure starts remain near record low levels, significantly lower than a year ago, when many banks still had self-imposed moratoriums in place due to the robo-signing scandal. Add to that a foreclosure timeframe of more than eight months, and there is little chance of a wave this year even if all the banks started the foreclosure process en masse tomorrow.”

In the Central Valley, foreclosure starts dropped year-over-year except in Kings County, which showed a sharp uptick.

Here are ForeclosureRadar’s figures for foreclosure starts in the Central Valley in January, by county, compared to year-earlier numbers.

• Butte: 6; -94.69 percent

• Fresno: 537; -21.49 percent

• Kern: 580; -24.38 percent

• Kings: 147; +56.38 percent

• Madera: 89; – 32.06 percent

• Merced: 157; -25.94 percent

• Sacramento: 1,110; -19.51 percent

• San Joaquin: 558; -22.50 percent

• Stanislaus: 424; -18.93 percent

• Tulare: 295; -8.67 percent

• Yolo: 85; -18.27

• Yuba: 67; -17.28 percent

 

Q4 2011 Housing Affordability Index

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California housing affordability improves, matching previous record high, C.A.R. reports

LOS ANGELES, CA – February 13, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — California’s housing affordability rose to its highest level in fourth-quarter 2011, matching a record high set in 2009, thanks to lower home prices and record-low interest rates, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today.

The percentage of home buyers who could afford to purchase a median-priced, existing single-family home in California rose to 55 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from 52 percent in third-quarter 2011 and from 50 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to C.A.R.’s Traditional Housing Affordability Index (HAI).  The index was the highest since C.A.R. began tracking this statistic in 1988, and equaled a high set in first-quarter 2009.

C.A.R.’s HAI measures the percentage of all households that can afford to purchase a median-priced, single-family home in California.  C.A.R. also reports affordability indices for regions and select counties within the state.  The Index is considered the most fundamental measure of housing well-being for home buyers in the state.

Home buyers needed to earn a minimum annual income of $57,750 to qualify for the purchase of a $282,350 statewide median-priced, existing single-family home in the fourth quarter of 2011.  The monthly payment, including taxes and insurance on a 30-year fixed-rate loan, would be $1,440, assuming a 20 percent down payment and an effective composite interest rate of 4.31 percent.  The effective composite interest rate in third-quarter 2011 was 4.63 percent and 4.62 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, housing affordability rose in most counties except San Francisco and San Mateo counties, where it was unchanged, primarily due to home price increases in those counties.  At 78 percent, San Bernardino County was the most affordable, while San Francisco County was the least affordable, with only 26 percent of households able to purchase the county’s median-priced home.

Visit http://www.car.org/marketdata/data/haitraditional/ to see C.A.R.’s historical housing affordability data.  For first-time buyer housing affordability data, visit http://www.car.org/marketdata/data/ftbhai/.

Leading the way…® in California real estate for more than 100 years, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (www.car.org) is one of the largest state trade organizations in the United States with more than 160,000 members dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate. C.A.R. is headquartered in Los Angeles.

# # #

CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Traditional Housing Affordability Index


STATE/REGION/COUNTY 4 th Qtr 2011 3 rd Qtr 2011   4 th Qtr 2010
California single-family existing 55 52 50
California condo/townhome 63 62 59
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area 56 53 52
Inland Empire 71 69 68
San Francisco Bay Area 42 38 35
United States 70 66 r 67
San Francisco Bay Area
Alameda 39 36 33
Contra-Costa (Central County) 37 27 26
Marin 29 25 25
Napa 50 48 47
San Francisco 26 26 22
San Mateo 29 29 25
Santa Clara 40 34 35
Solano 76 75 71
Sonoma 51 46 44
Southern California
Los Angeles 48 42 43
Orange County 38 33 33
Riverside County 66 65 64
San Bernardino 78 77 76
San Diego 45 42 40
Ventura 49 45 41
Central Coast
Monterey 56 56 58
San Luis Obispo 41 40 37
Santa Barbara 41 37 32
Santa Cruz 37 32 29
Central Valley
Fresno 70 69 67
Kings County 75 76 66
Madera 75 74 70
Merced 77 74 76
Placer County 67 64 62
Sacramento 74 72 70
Tulare 73 73 71

r = revised

*   Los Angeles Metropolitan Area is a five-county region that includes Los Angeles County, Orange
County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and Ventura County
**  Inland Empire includes Riverside County and San Bernardino County
***S.F. Bay Area has been redefined to include the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa,
Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma
CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Traditional Housing Affordability Index

C.A.R. Region Housing Affordability Index Median Home Price Monthly
Payment Including
Taxes & Insurance		 Minimum
Qualifying
Income
California single-family existing 55 $282,350 $1,440 $57,750
California condo/townhome 63 $225,790 $1,150 $46,180
Los Angeles Metropolitan Area 56 $267,260 $1,370 $54,670
Inland Empire 71 $172,250 $880 $35,230
San Francisco Bay Area 42 $462,320 $2,360 $94,570
United States 70 $163,500 $840 $33,440
San Francisco Bay Area
Alameda 39 $453,230 $2,320 $92,710
Contra-Costa (Central County) 37 $524,240 $2,680 $107,230
Marin 29 $731,200 $3,740 $149,560
Napa 50 $338,730 $1,730 $69,290
San Francisco 26 $647,340 $3,310 $132,410
San Mateo 29 $660,000 $3,380 $135,000
Santa Clara 40 $549,000 $2,810 $112,300
Solano 76 $190,630 $970 $38,990
Sonoma 51 $323,000 $1,650 $66,070
Southern California
Los Angeles 48 $296,880 $1,520 $60,730
Orange County 38 $485,480 $2,480 $99,300
Riverside County 66 $199,660 $1,020 $40,840
San Bernardino 78 $131,870 $670 $26,970
San Diego 45 $357,960 $1,830 $73,220
Ventura 49 $398,830 $2,040 $81,580
Central Coast
Monterey 56 $270,000 $1,380 $55,230
San Luis Obispo 41 $361,710 $1,850 $73,990
Santa Barbara 41 $378,430 $1,940 $77,410
Santa Cruz 37 $455,000 $2,330 $93,070
Central Valley
Fresno 70 $143,500 $730 $29,350
Kings County 75 $137,690 $700 $28,160
Madera 75 $118,180 $600 $24,170
Merced 77 $114,420 $590 $23,400
Placer County 67 $255,900 $1,310 $52,340
Sacramento 74 $164,430 $840 $33,630
Tulare 73 $125,970 $640 $25,770

Avoid Foreclosure: Know Your State’s Foreclosure Law

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The foreclosure law of the state in which the property is located controls how the foreclosure process is completed. Every state’s foreclosure statute delineates the various time periods for each step involved in the entire foreclosure process from start to finish. So, the statute can be seen as a roadmap of sorts, assisting homeowners interested in figuring out how to stop the foreclosure of their home.

In some states the process is a legal one which is begun in a court of law with the filing of a document called a Lis Pendens (which literally means “a lawsuit pending”). This is known as “judicial” foreclosure.

In other states the process is begun “non-judicially” by the filing and recording of a Notice of Default with the county recorder’s office by either the lender directly, or through a disinterested third party known as a “trustee.”

The actual length of the foreclosure process varies from state to state depending again on the state’s foreclosure statute. In some states it can take as little as three months, while in other states the entire process can drag out for as much as a year.

California Overview

Judicial Non-Judicial Process Period Sale Publication Redemption Period Sale/NTS
Yes Yes 117 Days 21 Days 365* Days Trustee
Judicial Foreclosures are not common

Pre-foreclosure Period

Court foreclosures only occur if a lender desires a deficiency judgment. This process gives a borrower up to one year to redeem the property after the foreclosure sale. It is recommended that the borrower find a way to resolve it, or get some foreclosure assistance.

In almost all cases, foreclosures are handled out of court. The process begins when a lender files a notice of default with the county recorder identifying the default amount and the date the borrower must pay off the default. The notice is mailed to the borrower and other affected parties.

Up to five business days before the trustee sale, the borrower may pay off the default plus any applicable costs of foreclosure and stop foreclosure. Three months after the notice of default is filed, the lender can schedule a trustee’s sale of the property.

Notice Of Sale / Auction

At least 20 days before the trustee’s sale, the notice of sale must be posted on the property and in one local public location. The notice is also published once a week for three weeks in a local newspaper, starting at least 20 days before the sale date. The notice is mailed to the borrower at least 20 days before the sale and to anyone who requests the notice. The notice must contain the date, time, and location of the sale, the property address, and the trustee’s contact information. In addition, the notice of sale must be recorded with the county recorder at least 14 days before the sale.

The trustee’s sale is a public auction and the property is sold to the winning bidder. The trustee may require bidders to pay the full bid amount in cash or cashier’s check. Anyone may bid at the sale, including the lender and any junior lien holders. A trustee’s sale may be postponed by announcement at the sale. If a sale is postponed more than three times, a new notice of sale must be issued.

After the sale is complete, the trustee transfers ownership to the winning bidder. The borrower does not have the right to redeem the property after the sale.

* Judicial Foreclosures Only

 

 

 

 

Source:  www.realtytrac.com/foreclosure-laws/California-Foreclosure-Laws.asp

Foreclosure Homes Account for 20 Percent of All U.S. Residential Sales in Q3 2011 According to RealtyTrac(R)

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RVINE, CA, Jan 26, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — RealtyTrac(R) ( www.realtytrac.com ), the leading online marketplace for foreclosures, today released its Q3 2011 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report(TM), which shows that sales of homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for 20 percent of all U.S. residential sales in the third quarter of 2011, down from 22 percent of all sales in the second quarter and down from 30 percent of all sales in the third quarter of 2010.

Third parties purchased a total of 221,536 residential properties in some stage of foreclosure (NOD, LIS, NTS, NFS) or bank-owned (REO) during the third quarter, down 11 percent from a revised second quarter total and down 5 percent from the third quarter of 2010.

The average sales price of homes in foreclosure or bank owned was $165,322 in the third quarter, up 1 percent from the previous quarter but down 3 percent from the third quarter of 2010. The average sales price of these foreclosure-related sales was 34 percent below the average sales price of homes not in foreclosure, matching the 34 percent foreclosure discount in the second quarter but below the 37 percent discount in the third quarter of 2010.

“While foreclosures continue to represent an excellent bargain-buying opportunity for many buyers and investors, foreclosure sales accounted for a smaller share of the total market in the third quarter. That trend is not too surprising given the continued ambiguity surrounding proper foreclosure procedures — and the ripple effect that has on sales of foreclosed properties that might have been improperly foreclosed,” said Brandon Moore, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The sooner the market gets more clarity about accepted foreclosure procedures, primarily through the long-promised settlement between multiple states attorneys general and major lenders, the sooner the market can more efficiently dispose of these distressed properties.

“Even with the hurdles to selling foreclosures, foreclosure sales continue to represent a historically high percentage of all sales,” Moore continued. “In 2005 and 2006, foreclosure sales consistently accounted for less than 5 percent of all sales nationwide.”

Pre-foreclosure sales flat from year ago, REO sales down A total of 92,824 pre-foreclosure homes — in default or scheduled for auction — sold to third parties in the third quarter, a decrease of 9 percent from the previous quarter and nearly identical to the 92,967 pre-foreclosure sales in the third quarter of 2010. Pre-foreclosure sales accounted for nearly 9 percent of all sales, the same as in the second quarter, but down from 12 percent of all sales in the third quarter of 2010.

Pre-foreclosure sales increased more than 30 percent on an annual basis in Michigan (up 68 percent), North Carolina (up 44 percent), Ohio (up 43 percent) and Georgia (up 35 percent). Pre-foreclosure sales outnumbered REO sales in several states in the third quarter, including Colorado, Florida, New Jersey and New York.

Pre-foreclosures, which are often sold via short sale, had an average sales price nationwide of $191,119, a discount of 24 percent below the average sales price of homes not in foreclosure. That was up from the 23 percent discount in the previous quarter and matched the 24 percent discount in the third quarter of 2010. Pre-foreclosures that sold in the third quarter took an average of 318 days to sell after receiving an initial foreclosure notice, up from an average of 245 days in the second quarter and average of 236 days in the third quarter of 2010.

A total of 128,712 bank-owned (REO) homes sold to third parties in the third quarter, down 13 percent from the second quarter and down nearly 8 percent from the third quarter of 2010. REO sales accounted for nearly 12 percent of all sales in the third quarter, down from 13 percent of all sales in the previous quarter and down from nearly 18 percent of all sales in the third quarter of 2010.

Nationally, REOs had an average sales price of $146,437 in the third quarter, a discount of nearly 42 percent below the average sales price of homes not in foreclosure. That matched a 42 percent discount on REOs in the second quarter, but was down from a 45 percent discount in the third quarter of 2010. REOs that sold in the third quarter took an average of 193 days to sell after being foreclosed on, up from 178 days in the second quarter and 161 days in the third quarter of 2010.

Nevada, California and Arizona post highest percentage of foreclosure sales Foreclosure-related sales accounted for nearly 57 percent of all residential sales in Nevada during the third quarter, the highest percentage of any state. Third parties purchased a total of 13,992 homes in foreclosure or bank owned in Nevada during the third quarter, nearly identical to the 13,858 foreclosure-related sales in the previous quarter, but up 24 percent from the third quarter of 2010.

Third parties purchased a total of 62,583 homes in foreclosure or bank owned in California, representing nearly 44 percent of the state’s total residential property sales in the third quarter — the second highest percentage of any state. Foreclosure-related sales in California decreased nearly 7 percent from the previous quarter but were up 7 percent from the third quarter of 2010.

Arizona foreclosure-related sales accounted for 43 percent of all sales in the state, the third highest percentage of any state. Third parties purchased a total of 21,619 homes in foreclosure or bank owned in Arizona during the quarter, down nearly 14 percent from the previous quarter, but up 19 percent from the third quarter of 2010.

Other states where foreclosure-related sales accounted for at least 20 percent of all sales included Georgia (34 percent), Colorado (26 percent) and Michigan (23 percent).

Due to a nearly 30 percent decrease from the previous year, Florida foreclosure-related sales in the third quarter accounted for 19 percent of all sales in the state — down from 39 percent of all sales in the third quarter of 2010.

Click here for information on the U.S. metro areas with the biggest foreclosure discounts.

Report License The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report is the result of a proprietary evaluation of information compiled by RealtyTrac; the report and any of the information in whole or in part can only be quoted, copied, published, re-published, distributed and/or re-distributed or used in any manner if the user specifically references RealtyTrac as the source for said report and/or any of the information set forth within the report.

Order Customized Reports Detailed and historical foreclosure data used to create the above report may be purchased through the RealtyTrac Data Licensing Department at 949.502.8300 Ext. 158. Aggregate data is available at the state, metro, county and zip code levels dating back to 2005, and address-level foreclosure records are also available historically.

About RealtyTrac Inc. RealtyTrac ( www.realtytrac.com ) is the leading online marketplace of foreclosure properties, with more than 1.5 million default, auction and bank-owned listings from over 2,200 U.S. counties, along with detailed property, loan and home sales data. Hosting more than 3 million unique monthly visitors, RealtyTrac provides innovative technology solutions and practical education resources to facilitate buying, selling and investing in real estate. RealtyTrac’s foreclosure data has also been used by the Federal Reserve, FBI, U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee and Banking Committee, U.S. Treasury Department, and numerous state housing and banking departments to help evaluate foreclosure trends and address policy issues related to foreclosures.







Source: RealtyTrac http://www.marketwatch.com/story/foreclosure-homes-account-for-20-percent-of-all-us-residential-sales-in-q3-2011-according-to-realtytracr-2012-01-26

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
California Attorney General Rejects Foreclosure Settlement

			
						

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Calling it “inadequate for California,” the state is rejecting the latest settlement proposal between states and major U.S. banks over lending abuses that fueled the foreclosure crisis.


California Attorney General Kamala Harris pulled out of nationwide talks with the banks in October, saying the proposed $25 billion deal gave too much immunity to lenders and didn’t provide enough relief for homeowners in a state hard hit by the mortgage meltdown.


On Wednesday, Harris’ office said a new version of the settlement plan still falls short of those goals.


“At this point, this deal does not suffice for California,” said spokesman Shum Preston.


For more than a year, the nation’s five largest mortgage lenders – Bank of America, Citibank,Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Ally – have been working on a settlement agreement with a coalition of attorneys general in 50 states.


The latest settlement proposal seeks to help nearly 1 million homeowners, who could see the size of their mortgages lowered by an average of $20,000, according to the Associated Press.


The deal also calls for payment of about $1,800 to homeowners harmed by deceptive lending practices, the AP said.


Some consumer groups said the deal is an imperfect compromise that still provides significant reforms.


The Center for Responsible Lending said the pact could mean sustainable loan modifications for many delinquent homeowners and could end so-called “robo-signing” practices by requiring banks to individually review key foreclosure documents.


California and other states began their investigations after lenders and mortgage servicers were accused of rubber-stamping foreclosures without actually reviewing homeowners’ loan documents.


California is the nation’s No. 1 state when it comes to the number of foreclosures.


According to Irvine-based RealtyTrac, more than 420,000 homes had a foreclosure filing last year, which is more than double the filings in Florida, which had the next most filings.


Lawyers in the AG’s office have reviewed the settlement offer during the past several days and found that the proposal prevents the state from pursuing substantial legal actions against lenders.


“Our state has been clear about what any multistate settlement must contain: transparency, relief going to the most distressed homeowners, and meaningful enforcement that ensures accountability,” said Preston.


The state’s rejection came a day after President Barack Obama in his State of the Union speech called for the creation of a special investigative unit to delve into abusive lending practices that helped trigger the foreclosure crisis.


In many ways, the goals of federal unit, made up of federal prosecutors and state attorneys general, are similar to those of the 40-member Mortgage Fraud Strike Force set up by Harris in May.


That unit recently joined forces with Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto’s mortgage fraud strike force to investigate lending abuses.












Source: By Rick Daysog

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/01/26/4216052/california-attorney-general-rejects.html#storylink=cpy


 

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
California State Senate Votes to Extend Mortgage Protections

			
						

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California lawmakers voted Monday to extend a law passed during the peak of the mortgage crisis that provides added protections for property owners, renters and neighbors of foreclosed properties.


The law passed in 2008 says foreclosure proceedings can’t begin until the lender has tried for 30 days to work out alternatives with the delinquent homeowner.


Lenders also must notify renters that they are beginning foreclosure proceedings. And they must give renters 60 days’ notice before evicting them from a foreclosed property.


They also are required to maintain vacant foreclosed houses or risk fines up to $1,000 a day.


The law was set to expire after this year, but senators voted to extend it another five years, through 2017.


“Unfortunately, foreclosures remain a major problem throughout the state. This legislation continues important protections for homeowners and renters that have proved tremendously helpful in this trying time,” Sen. Ellen Corbett, D-San Leandro, said in a statement after her SB708 passed on a 32-1 vote.


Senators unanimously approved a second bill, this one designed to prevent the California Housing Finance Agency from foreclosing on certain borrowers who rent out their homes.


The prohibition is limited to homeowners who are current on their mortgage payments, but rent out their homes because they owe more than their house is worth. The bill’s author, Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, said it is designed to help property owners who find themselves in financial trouble because of circumstances like a lost job or growing family, and is not aimed at helping housing market speculators.


Housing agency officials previously said they believed they were required to foreclose if the property was no longer the borrower’s primary residence. The agency suspended those foreclosures in October at the urging of DeSaulnier and Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.


The agency’s board is scheduled to consider the policy at its meeting in March. DeSaulnier said his SB447 would give the agency the statutory authority to change its policy.


There was no opposition and no debate on either bill. Both bills now go to the state Assembly.


 


By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
Foreclosures: America’s Hardest Hit Neighborhoods

			
						

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The housing collapse has dramatically changed the nation’s foreclosure landscape.


Neighborhoods boasting modern homes, cul-de-sacs and tree-lined streets in and around Western cities now dominate the list of the top 100 U.S. zip codes hit hardest by foreclosures and claim and comprise all of the top 10 spots, according to data generated for CNNMoney by RealtyTrac. In 2011, Western states claimed 82 of the 100 worst hit zip codes with 38 in California and another 28 in Nevada.


That’s quite a departure from when CNNMoney first looked at the top foreclosure zip codes in June 2007. Back then, the auto industry’s ills had turned inner-city neighborhoods in Detroit, Cleveland and Indianapolis into foreclosure ground zero, with the three cities claiming 25 of the nation’s 100 hardest hit neighborhoods.


These older working-class neighborhoods were particularly blighted with vacant, repossessed homes lining the streets. In fact, they claimed 6 out of the list’s top 10 spots.


These days, however, many of the worst hit zip codes are communities that were built in the past decade or two in and around once-rapidly growing metro areas like Phoenix,San Bernardino, Calif. and Las Vegas, now the poster child of the foreclosure mess.


In fact, Las Vegas claims all five of the top five hardest hit zip codes.The number one spot goes to a neighborhood in North Las Vegas(in zip code of 89031) that recorded 2,469 foreclosure filings last year, according to RealtyTrac.


In California, the towns of Lancaster(93535), in the central part of the state, and Fontana (92336), near San Bernardino, claimed sixth and seventh place — the highest finishers for any zip codes outside of Nevada.


As far as regions go, the South claimed the second highest number of hardest hit zips with 14. Georgia claimed 12 of those neighborhoods, including one in Atlanta that took 10th place. Interestingly, not a single Northeastern zip code made RealtyTrac’s top 100 list.


The foreclosure effect


Foreclosures can devastate housing markets. Properties repossessed by the banks, called REOs, sell for 25% to 50% less than non-foreclosures, said RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Blomquist. Yet, a single foreclosure in an otherwise foreclosure-free neighborhood will rarely impact surrounding values, he said.


“In a normal, healthy housing market an REO sale is the exception and there are many other non-distressed sales that dilute the impact,” he said.


It’s when REO sales rise to 20% or 30% of local sales, as they do in the hardest hit zip codes, that they really begin to affect prices, he said.


“That’s when we start to see the average discount between REO sales prices and non-foreclosure sales prices dwindle, particularly in local markets where much of the REO inventory consists of relatively new homes built in the last few years,” said Blomquist. “The more REO sales dominate a given market, the more they drag down overall home prices.”


In a neighborhood like 32811 in Orlando, Fla., which counted 275 homes with foreclosure filings in just one month last year, home prices have plunged dramatically.


ne three-bedroom in the area is currently listed for just under $40,000, for example. In 2005, that same home sold for $120,900, according to real estate agent Jerome Baker.


Not only that, but the listing price is “a little bit on the high end,” said Baker. “We’ll probably have to lower it to $29,000 to generate some interest.”


In Fontana, Calif.’s 92336 zip code, the average home price has been cut in half since December, 2007, according to Zillow.


A four-bedroom, 2,000-square-foot house, was recently listed for $200,500, down 57% from the $465,000 it last sold for in October, 2007.


 


 


 


By Les Christie @CNNMoney January 23, 2012

					

		
		
	


				
					
	

		

						
California Home Sales Surge 15 Percent in December

			
						

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Monthly sales of new and existing homes in California surged in December while home prices remained steady even though distressed properties accounted for over half of all existing home sales during the month according to real estate information provider DataQuick.


An estimated total of 37,734 new and existing homes and condos were sold in the Golden State in December. That was 15.5 percent higher than the 32,669 homes sold in November and 4.2 percent higher than the 36,215 homes sold in December 2010. Historically, California typically averages 44,063 home sales in the month of December.


The median sales price for a home in California increased 0.8 percent to $246,000 from $244,000 in November but was 3.1 percent lower than the median price of $254,000 posted in December of 2010.


The statewide current cycle peak price was $484,000 in early 2007, while the low during the current cycle was $221,000 in April 2009. Year-over-year home prices have declined for 15 consecutive months.


Distressed property sales accounted for 54.2 percent of all re-sales in December, up from a revised 53.9 percent in November, with homes that had been foreclosed on in the previous twelve months accounting for 34.2 percent of the existing home sales. That was up from a revised 32.9 percent posted in the previous month but down from 38.1 percent in December of 2010.


Short sales remained unchanged at 20.0 percent of all re-sales last month. In December of last year, short sales accounted for 17.8 percent of all existing home sales.


Low mortgage interest rates and the lowest home prices in years helped California borrowers keep their payments low as the typical monthly mortgage payment for home buyers in December was $935, up slightly from $931 in November. The lowest monthly payment recorded since DataQuick started keeping records in 1988 was $924, reached in October of 2011.


The payment was still $120 less than the average mortgage payment of $1,055 in December of last year. December’s typical mortgage payment was 66.4 percent lower than it was during the current cycle’s peak in June 2006.


 


 


SOURCE: DataQuick January 23, 2012 (Shirley Allen)