Real Estate News

Jay Schurman concluded that “banks are not in the real estate business” after a marathon REO purchase in 2008 that started in January and ended in August. 0Thu, 15 Apr 2010 07:00:00 GMTJay Schurman concluded that “banks are not in the real estate business” after a marathon REO purchase in 2008 that started in January and ended in August. Nearly two years later lenders are much savvier about selling bank-owned properties, and their newfound know-how is grounded in the basics of supply and demand, which are both heavily impacted by foreclosures in the 2010 marketplace. Sales of properties in some stage of foreclosure accounted for one-third of all sales in the first three months of the year, according to RealtyTrac.

The surest place to find future foreclosures is among the very people Uncle Sam is helping with its mortgage modification programs, which gave 1.4 million borrowers trials modifications in 2009. 0Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:00:00 GMTMore than 1.4 million borrowers have been offered trial mortgage modifications through the federal government during the past year, a significant number by any standard. What's also significant is this: The surest place to find future foreclosures is among the very people Uncle Sam is helping. While anyone with common sense would like to see fewer foreclosures, the reality is that the numbers are up. In 2009 there were 3,957,643 foreclosure filings according to RealtyTrac, a number that rose 21 percent over 2009. So far in 2010 RealtyTrac says that first-quarter foreclosure filings have increased 16 percent when compared with a year ago.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 932,234 properties in the first quarter, a 7 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 16 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009.0Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:00:00 GMTForeclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 932,234 properties in the first quarter, a 7 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 16 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009, according to the latest RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. One in every 138 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Foreclosure filings were reported on 367,056 properties in March, an increase of nearly 19 percent from the previous month, an increase of nearly 8 percent from March 2009 and the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in January 2005.

Corey Fryer found the dream home for his growing family in an idyllic tree-lined Chicago neighborhood by negotiating directly with a distressed homeowner in pre-foreclosure.0Wed, 31 Mar 2010 07:00:00 GMTCory Fryer’s growing family needed more room. Fryer and his wife had just moved back to Chicago from Grand Rapids, Mich., and were looking for a spacious home for their growing family of six. Fryer began searching online for properties and spotted a two-story brick bungalow on a tree-lined street in South Chicago’s West Chatham neighborhood using RealtyTrac.com. The pre-foreclosure he unearthed had been abandoned by the current owner and was boarded up despite its great location across the street from an elementary school and near a park where Fryer’s four children could play.

Beginning April 5 new guidelines will make buying distressed properties much easier. Simply put, if this was poker you’d now be able to see the other guy's hand. 0Thu, 25 Mar 2010 07:00:00 GMTBeginning April 5 new guidelines will make buying distressed properties much easier. Simply put, if this was poker you’d now be able to see the other guy's hand. The goal of the new rules is to reduce the foreclosure inventory by making it easier to have a short sale. To do this the government wants lenders to unravel the current short-sale process, deals that can take months to close if they close at all. In the past foreclosures were not much of a problem for lenders because distressed properties could generally be re-sold for enough money to fully pay off both the mortgage debt and the lender's foreclosure costs.

Foreclosure activity in these five metro areas zoomed higher last year at a faster pace than already established foreclosure hotbeds like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay.0Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:00:00 GMTForeclosure activity in these five metro areas zoomed higher last year at a faster pace than already established foreclosure hotbeds like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay. Buyers can find discounts of 30 percent or more as foreclosures flare up in these cities — all of which have solid economic fundamentals and strong upside potential for real estate. In Boise, bank-owned properties in the low-end price range of under $200,000 are still attracting the most competition from buyers, according to Tonyah Lee, an agent with Keller Williams Realty Boise. “Everybody’s looking for a deal,” she said.

Forbearance pretty much means financial mercy at the option of the lender and it's at the heart of a new proposal by the Mortgage Bankers Association to reduce foreclosures among the unemployed. 0Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:00:00 GMTWithin the world of mortgage debt there's a concept called forbearance. It pretty much means financial mercy at the option of the lender and now the idea is at the heart of a new proposal by the Mortgage Bankers Association to reduce foreclosures among the unemployed. To see how forbearance works imagine that Smith doesn't pay his mortgage but even so Lender Jones elects not to foreclose. Why doesn't the lender foreclose? Most likely because Jones thinks Smith can re-start regular payments as soon as he starts a new job, recovers from an illness, gets past a temporary set-back, etc.

Every week, tens of millions of dollars worth of foreclosed real estate is sold nationwide at sheriff’s sales and trustee’s sales, and savvy investors are finding a few golden bargains at these sales.0Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:00:00 GMTEvery week, tens of millions of dollars worth of foreclosed real estate is sold nationwide at sheriff’s sales and trustee’s sales, and savvy investors are finding a few golden bargains mixed in with many lumps of coal at these public foreclosure auctions. Investor Gregory Metcalf in Orange County, Calif., said sometimes he’ll scoop up five or six properties in a day. “This is a highly specialized area of real estate,” warned Metcalf, who buys 500 to 600 properties a year. “You would be foolish not to get training to learn how to work courthouse auctions … because if you make a mistake here you’ll get killed.”

While many efforts to encourage mortgage modifications have been tried, the state of Oregon has come up with something that costs taxpayers nothing and will motivate many lenders to write down loans.0Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:00:00 GMTWhile many efforts to encourage mortgage modifications have been tried during the past three years, the state of Oregon has come up with something original and unique: It's moving forward with an idea that costs taxpayers nothing and will, er, motivate many lenders to write down loans. Passed in the Oregon house by a vote of 58 to 0, and in the state senate by unanimous consent, HB 3656 doesn't fool around with cash payments to lenders or other niceties. Instead, the deal is very simple: In a foreclosure action the right of a piggyback second lender to sue for a deficiency judgment is eliminated.

Foreclosure, it seems, is no longer the stain it once was. A new study of 27 million credit records shows that since 2008 credit card delinquencies have been lower than mortgage payment delinquencies. 0Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:00:00 GMTWhich would you rather lose, your home or your credit cards? It's a choice most of us would prefer not to face, but for some the answer is that they would rather hang onto their plastic. In a new study of 27 million credit records, TransUnion says that since 2008 credit card delinquencies have been lower than mortgage payment delinquencies. “This 'flip' is representative of the change in the conventional wisdom around the payment hierarchy, or which debt obligations consumers would choose to pay first,” according to the company. Foreclosure, it seems, is no longer the stain it once was.

Hard times in the nation’s employment sector have helped college towns like Burlington, Vt., and Utica, N.Y., avoid the foreclosures that have hit Las Vegas and other markets across California and Florida. 0Wed, 03 Feb 2010 07:00:00 GMTThere's simply no doubt about it. Burlington, Vt., and neighboring South Burlington are the best housing market in America rated by the lowest number of foreclosures in the nation, and there's not any doubt why. All bottom seven communities on the 2009 RealtyTrac foreclosure list are college towns, where local economies have been boosted by the rush to higher education. Burlington only saw 45 residential properties tagged with foreclosure notices in 2009, and not even all of them went to foreclosure. Only eight experienced the worst case scenario.

Here’s another acronym to add to the federal government’s alphabet soup of foreclosure prevention programs: HAFA, or Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives. It could streamline short sales in 2010.0Tue, 02 Feb 2010 07:00:00 GMTLike many of her colleagues, Chicago Realtor Carol Grobman has been wondering for a long time why the real estate community at large, and the federal government in particular, have not made a move toward relieving the prolonged short sale process that has been trying the patience of their sellers and buyers alike. Well, the federal government has finally answered back, adding another acronym to its list of government-sponsored programs. This one is called HAFA (it stands for Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) and is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

New FHA lending standards will make it tougher for some prospective buyers to purchase a home by requiring a higher down payment, higher insurance premiums and reduced seller concessions. 0Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:00:00 GMTStarting in early summer, the Federal Housing Administration is tightening lending standards in an effort to bolster its dwindling reserves. The new lending standards will make it tougher for some prospective buyers to purchase a home by requiring a higher down payment than the typical 3.5 percent for some borrowers, higher insurance premiums and reduced seller concessions. Securing FHA-insured mortgages are attractive to borrowers because down payments are only 3.5 percent. Most conventional loans now require 20 percent down, keeping many creditworthy borrowers on the sidelines.

Cities in the so-called Sand States dominated the foreclosure rankings in 2009, with the 20 worst-hit metro areas residing in Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona.0Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:00:00 GMTCities in the so-called Sand States dominated the foreclosure rankings in 2009, with the 20 worst-hit metro areas residing in Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona.

It's going to be another dismal year in the home foreclosures category, according to new data released today by Irvine, CA-based RealtyTrac.0Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:00:00 GMTIt's going to be another dismal year in the home foreclosures category, according to new data released today by Irvine, CA-based RealtyTrac.

More than 126,000 homes in Inland Southern California received a foreclosure-related notice last year, which was about seven times as many as in 2006 but only 12 percent more than in 2008. 0Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:00:00 GMTMore than 126,000 homes in Inland Southern California received a foreclosure-related notice last year, which was about seven times as many as in 2006 but only 12 percent more than in 2008. This does not prove that the problem of failing mortgages is stabilizing, but does show that more houses are stuck in a sluggish foreclosure process, according to RealtyTrac, the Irvine company that Wednesday released their annual foreclosure report.

One out of 10. That's how many properties in Merced County got foreclosure filings last year. 0Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:00:00 GMTOne out of 10. That's how many properties in Merced County got foreclosure filings last year. The grim numbers thrust the county into the top spot for the state of California, according to a new report by RealtyTrac.

It’s been a brutal year for foreclosure activity and there’s “no end in sight,” says Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac.0Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:00:00 GMTIt’s been a brutal year for foreclosure activity and there’s “no end in sight,” says Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac.

When 2009 began, millions of American homeowners hoped that the worst of the real estate crisis was behind them. They were wrong.0Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:00:00 GMTWhen 2009 began, millions of American homeowners hoped that the worst of the real estate crisis was behind them. They were wrong. Instead of declining, the number of foreclosed homes in the U.S. last year increased to a record 2.8 million, a 21% rise over 2008 and 120% over 2007, according to a new report from Irvine (Calif.)-based RealtyTrac. 2010 may not be much better.

U.S. foreclosure actions shattered all records in 2009 and will do so again this year, with unemployment and wage cuts overcoming programs to remedy failing home loans, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.0Thu, 14 Jan 2010 07:00:00 GMTU.S. foreclosure actions shattered all records in 2009 and will do so again this year, with unemployment and wage cuts overcoming programs to remedy failing home loans, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.