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ML
3019 Posts |
 Posted - 06/13/2008 : 05:30:25 AM
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US foreclosure filings surge 48 percent in May
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 13, 2008
Filed at 7:36 a.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of U.S. homeowners swept up in the housing crisis rose further last month, with foreclosure filings up nearly 50 percent compared with a year earlier, a foreclosure listing company said Friday.
Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 48 percent from 176,137 in the same month last year and up 7 percent from April, RealtyTrac Inc. said.
One in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May, the highest number since RealtyTrac started the report in 2005 and the second-straight monthly record.
Foreclosure filings increased from a year earlier in all but 10 states. Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Michigan had the highest statewide foreclosure rates.
Metropolitan areas in California and Florida accounted for nine of the top 10 areas with the highest rate of foreclosure. That list was led by Stockton, Calif. and the Cape Coral-Fort Myers area in Florida.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Nearly 74,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide in May, while more than 58,000 received default notices, the company said.
In Nevada, one in every 118 households received a foreclosure-related notice last month, more than four times the national rate. In California, one in every 183 households faced foreclosure.
The combination of weak housing sales, falling home values, tighter mortgage lending criteria and a slowing U.S. economy has left financially strapped homeowners with few options to avoid foreclosure. Many can't find buyers or owe more than their home is worth and can't get refinanced into an affordable loan.
Making matters worse, mortgage rates have been rising, reflecting increased concerns about what the Federal Reserve might do to battle inflation. Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.32 percent this week, the highest level in nearly eight months and up sharply from 6.09 percent last week.
Efforts by government and the mortgage industry to stem the tide of foreclosures aren't keeping up with the rising number of troubled homeowners, and critics say a Bush administration-backed mortgage industry coalition, dubbed Hope Now, is falling far short.
Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing, said foreclosures are unlikely to peak until sometime this fall, as more loans made to borrowers with poor credit records reset at higher levels. ''I don't think we've seen the high point,'' he said.
About 50 to 60 percent of borrowers who receive foreclosure filings are likely to lose their homes, Sharga said. The rest are likely to be able to sell or refinance.
A new government report released Wednesday found that among mortgages held by Bank of America, Citigroup Inc. and seven other large banks, foreclosures climbed to 1.23 percent of all loans in March from 0.9 percent in October.
As foreclosed properties pile up, they add to the inventory of homes on the market and drag down home prices. The trend is most dramatic in many parts of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona, where prices skyrocketed during the housing boom and are now falling precipitously.
Sales of foreclosures, vacant new homes and other distressed properties now dominate some markets, causing grief for individual homeowners who need to sell for other reasons, like a job in a new city.
Nationwide, one out of every four sales between January and March was a distressed sale, and that figure jumps to more than 50 percent in the hardest-hit areas like Las Vegas, Detroit and distant suburbs of Los Angeles, according to Moody's Economy.com.
In some neighborhoods, lenders are slashing prices dramatically to rid themselves of an unprecedented number of foreclosed properties, sparking bidding wars and multiple offers.
While that's a positive for the real estate market, buyers in other parts of the country are still holding back.
''I think a lot of people are waiting to see if we really have hit the bottom,'' Sharga said.
Lehman Brothers economist Michelle Meyer said in a report Thursday that U.S. home sales are likely to hit bottom at the end of this summer, but said a recovery in sales is likely to be ''feeble.'' Home prices, she wrote, are still expected to fall another 10 percent by the end of 2009.
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JoefromPhilly
661 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 05:40:51 AM
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I like all the pretty colors in your post!
- Joe |
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kellamtom
633 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 05:56:06 AM
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| it's up 150% from last year; copper and scrap metal companies experience record breaking profits last quarter, alot of foreclsosures out there vandalized |
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peter
4617 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 09:41:06 AM
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This surge in US foreclosures will result in reported quarterly
losses by big banks, i.e. Wachovia, WAMU, IndyMac, Chase, etc.
resulting in their tightening lending further with lower LTVs,
etc. or they will only market Agency loans which they know
they can sell to GSEs. Still, the fear culture will permeate
underwriting and lending further and it will be difficult to
get imperfect files funded with lenders.
Peter |
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darkstar
18311 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 09:44:01 AM
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>>>> This surge in US foreclosures will result in reported quarterly
losses by big banks, i.e. Wachovia, WAMU, IndyMac, Chase, etc.
resulting in their tightening lending further with lower LTV
Wouldn't that be if the didn't know these figures would be this way 6 months ago, I don't think this is new news to them, I imagine their guidelines were tightened in lieu if this report more so than in response to it...I could be wrong... |
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Scrooge McDuck
8853 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 09:46:16 AM
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| youre wrong. theyre going to tighten it now, cause of this report. just the way it is. |
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ktaylor
34 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 09:52:10 AM
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| How can I find foreclosure lists in my area? |
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downtime
228 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 09:54:03 AM
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| We have a ton of foreclosures down in melbourne florida. |
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wsmb1
24 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 10:03:53 AM
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As I have posted before, - I manage a small hard money portfolio - thankfully have been selling off loans to some local banks, doing what most bank are doing - RAISING CAPITAL. Banks aren't doing anything but managing the issues. Big and small banks alike. Until the market puts a bottom to the real estate vacuum, and until the equilibrium of renting vs. buying is established we continue down this path. Nobody wants to lend, that new loan could be a potential problem.
As lenders - me included - we have enough problems. We need to clear ourselves of the inventory either by selling or renting, get rid of the remaining f/c's and get back to a comfortable capital level before things get a little easier - BEFORE WE TAKE ON NEW POTENTIAL PROBLEMS. Of course underwriting is going to be much stricter going forward, and those people who thought it was so "in vague" to mail in their keys to their lenders are going to be rudely awakened in the future. It may take years for these folks to buy a home and they'll be ready to when the market picks up in a couple of years. So those of you seeking a utopian end to this are in dream land. Cut your overhead - find new ways to separate yourself from the banks, because when the're ready to lend they will come out with guns blazing and mortgage broker won't be able to compete.
The mortgage broker has such a black eye right now with the public, that it may take years to gain the trust of the borrower. Been in this 21 years and this is the worst downturn that I've seen. But it will get better, it always has
best to all |
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ML
3019 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 11:45:36 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by wsmb1
As I have posted before, - I manage a small hard money portfolio - thankfully have been selling off loans to some local banks, doing what most bank are doing - RAISING CAPITAL. Banks aren't doing anything but managing the issues. Big and small banks alike. Until the market puts a bottom to the real estate vacuum, and until the equilibrium of renting vs. buying is established we continue down this path. Nobody wants to lend, that new loan could be a potential problem.
As lenders - me included - we have enough problems. We need to clear ourselves of the inventory either by selling or renting, get rid of the remaining f/c's and get back to a comfortable capital level before things get a little easier - BEFORE WE TAKE ON NEW POTENTIAL PROBLEMS. Of course underwriting is going to be much stricter going forward, and those people who thought it was so "in vague" to mail in their keys to their lenders are going to be rudely awakened in the future. It may take years for these folks to buy a home and they'll be ready to when the market picks up in a couple of years. So those of you seeking a utopian end to this are in dream land. Cut your overhead - find new ways to separate yourself from the banks, because when the're ready to lend they will come out with guns blazing and mortgage broker won't be able to compete.
The mortgage broker has such a black eye right now with the public, that it may take years to gain the trust of the borrower. Been in this 21 years and this is the worst downturn that I've seen. But it will get better, it always has
best to all
Been in longer, wasn't this bad when prevailing rates were in the teens! |
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peter
4617 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 2:27:17 PM
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Joe, excellent and sincere post. You said it all and
the going will be rougher in coming months especially
for brokers with high overheads. Downsizing is a must
for survival and especially if you operate in Southern
California -- land of the sinking sun!
Peter |
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nowbroker
1386 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 5:19:09 PM
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quote:
Been in this 21 years and this is the worst downturn that I've seen. But it will get better, it always has
best to all
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Been in longer, wasn't this bad when prevailing rates were in the teens!
Depends where you are from, I have also been in the business for many years, and the early 80's with the double digit rates were far worse than it is now. |
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wsmb1
24 Posts |
Posted - 06/13/2008 : 7:09:12 PM
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much different this time around. The housing inventory levels are much higher today. There are so many people working in the industry. I remember in the late 80's there were only a handfull of people working as brokers. Deals weren't easy to get, but they were there to sell to Ford Consumer, Citicorp, Equicredit, TransAmerica ... remember them, the subprime leaders...way before the IndyMac's and the like.
A friend of mine who was buying duplexes in the early 90's from FHA...and sold them a couple of years ago, made a fortune, but he waited 15 years and had to manage those dogs for so long. Those with money and time on their hands will buy up a few of these properties, rent them and in TEN YEARS will do fine. Unfortunately for me, I'll be owning these properties for a long time with tons of equity tied up earning nothing. Better than being taking down 100K on the courthouse steps.
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