1.65 Million Properties Receive Foreclosure Filings in First Half of 2010

Posted by Bradford Miller Law, PC.  Experienced in Real Estate law, landlord tenant law and estate planning.  Article courtesy of Realty Trac.

IRVINE, Calif. – July 15, 2010 – RealtyTrac® (http://www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Midyear 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 1,961,894 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 1,654,634 U.S. properties in the first six months of 2010, a 5 percent decrease in total properties from the previous six months but an 8 percent increase in total properties from the first six months of 2009. The report also shows that 1.28 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 78) received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of the year.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 313,841 U.S. properties in June, a decrease of nearly 3 percent from the previous month and a decrease of nearly 7 percent from June 2009. June was the sixteenth straight month where the total number of properties with foreclosure filings exceeded 300,000.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 895,521 U.S. properties during the second quarter, a decrease of nearly 4 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of less than 1 percent from the second quarter of 2009. Default and auction notices were down on a quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year basis in the second quarter, but bank repossessions (REOs) increased 5 percent from the previous quarter and 38 percent from Q2 2009 to 269,962 — a new quarterly high for the report.

“The second quarter was a tale of two trends,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “The pace of properties entering foreclosure slowed as lenders pre-empted or delayed foreclosure proceedings on delinquent properties with more aggressive short sale and loan modification initiatives. Meanwhile the pace of properties completing the foreclosure process through bank repossession quickened as lenders cleared out a backlog of distressed inventory delayed by foreclosure prevention efforts in 2009.

“The midyear numbers put us on pace to exceed 3 million properties with foreclosure filings by the end of the year, and more than 1 million bank repossessions,” Saccacio continued. “The roller coaster pattern of foreclosure activity over the past 12 months demonstrates that while the foreclosure problem is being managed on the surface, a massive number of distressed properties and underwater loans continues to sit just below the surface, threatening the fragile stability of the housing market.”

Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates

Nearly 6 percent of all Nevada housing units (one in 17) received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of 2010, giving Nevada the nation’s highest foreclosure rate during the six-month period despite decreasing foreclosure activity. A total of 64,429 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing from January to June, a decrease of 13 percent from the previous six months and a decrease of 6 percent from the first six months of 2009.

Arizona registered the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate in the first half of 2010, with 3.36 percent of its housing units (one in 30) receiving a foreclosure filing, and Florida registered the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, with 3.15 percent of its housing units (one in 32) receiving a foreclosure filing during the six months.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the nation’s 10 highest were California (2.54 percent), Utah (1.91 percent), Georgia (1.79 percent), Michigan (1.73 percent), Idaho (1.68 percent), Illinois (1.61 percent), and Colorado (1.40 percent).

California, Florida, Arizona post highest foreclosure totals

A total of 340,740 California properties received a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2010, the nation’s highest total but down 15 percent from the previous six months and down nearly 13 percent from the first six months of 2009.

With 277,073 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in the first six months of 2010, Florida documented the second highest state total. First-half foreclosure activity in Florida decreased nearly 9 percent from the previous six months but increased 3 percent from the first half of 2009.

Arizona’s 91,484 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in the first six months of 2010 was the third highest state total even though the state’s foreclosure activity decreased nearly 2 percent from the previous six months. Arizona foreclosure activity in the first half of 2010 was still up nearly 2 percent from the first half of 2009.

Other states with first-half totals among the 10 highest in the country were Illinois (85,223), Michigan (78,509), Georgia (71,949), Texas (64,883), Nevada (64,429), Ohio (59,927), and New Jersey (36,542).

Pending home sales down in May 2010

Posted by Bradford Miller Law PC, experienced in real estate law, landlord tenant law, and estate planning.  Visit the firm online at http://www.bradfordmillerlaw.com/.

Its tough out there for Sellers.  The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the Pending Home Sales Index, dropped 30.0 percent to 77.6 based on contracts signed in May from a reading of 110.9 in April, and is 15.9 percent lower than the May 2009 level of 92.3.

NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun says the decline was not unexpected. “Consumers are rational and they rushed to meet the tax credit eligibility deadline in April. The sharp decline in contract signings in May is a natural result with similar low levels of sales activity anticipated in June.”

In this kind of market, Seller's need all the help they can get.  One thing they can control is who they hire as their Attorney when they do find a Buyer.  Give us a call here at Bradford Miller Law PC.  Bradford Miller is experienced and you will find our rates to be extremely reasonable.

Tax credit extended

Congress has passed a bill extending the closing deadline from June 30th, 2010 to September 30th, 2010 for the homebuyers tax credit. The President has not yet signed the bill but is widely expected to do so.

This is especially good for many Buyers who are waiting for short sales to close.

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Bradford Miller is a Chicago Attorney practicing in Real Estate Law, Estate Planning, and Landlord Tenant Law.  Visit Bradford Miller Law, PC online at http://www.bradfordmillerlaw.com/.