Highest Quarter Ever for US Foreclosures

• Highest Quarter Ever for US Foreclosures

  tags: foreclosure, filings

  • 1,905,723 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 1,528,364 U.S. properties in the first six months of 2009, a 9 percent increase in total properties from the previous six months
  • 15 percent increase in total properties from the first six months of 2008
  • 1.19 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 84) received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of the year.
  • the second quarter total to the highest quarterly total
  • Unemployment-related foreclosures account for much of this increased activity, and the high number of borrowers who find themselves owing more on their mortgages than their homes’ are now worth represent a potentially significant future risk.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Bank of America Gives Cities, States First Shot at REOs

• Bank of America Gives Cities, States First Shot at REOs

  This could be a good opportunity for Bank of America to get rid of foreclosure inventory and help cities restore slum areas at the same time. Probably won't fly, but it's worth a shot.

  tags: foreclosures, reos, bank of america

  • Bank Gives Cities, States First Shot at REOs
    Bank of America is making it easier for states and cities to buy foreclosures before investors purchase them.
    
    The program is a result of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which aims to encourage redevelopment of neighborhoods hit hardest by foreclosure and the resale of properties to home owners.
    
    Bank of America will notify participating cities that properties are available before they are listed on multiple listing services. The company will set the prices with no haggling allowed.

Obama Mortgage Plan May Be Expanded - BusinessWeek

• Obama Mortgage Plan May Be Expanded - BusinessWeek

  Making Home Affordable Program may Now Work for people with more negative equity.

  tags: foreclosures, loan modification, foreclosure relief

  • Bloomberg is reporting that Washington may change the terms somewhat. Presently a first mortgage has to be no more than 105% of the market value of the home to qualify for a modification. Now the loans being modified may be as high 125% of the home’s value and still qualify for a lower interest rate.

Utah Ranks 5th Nationally for Foreclosure Filings

• Utah Ranks 5th Nationally for Foreclosure Filings

  According to RealtyTrac.com, Foreclosure Filings in Utah are getting up there with states like Arizona, California, and Florida. During May, Utah Ranked 5th Nationally for foreclosure filings. Up 115% from May of 2008. One out of every 316 homes received some sort of foreclosure notice.

  tags: foreclosures, may 2009, utah

Foreclosure Rates Will Likely Stay High Through 2012

• Foreclosures Won't End Soon, Analysts Predict foreclosures to peak in 2011

  Foreclosures are unlikely to peak until 2011, says the chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders.">Foreclosures Won't End Soon, Analysts Predict
  Rising unemployment and falling home prices is a treacherous combination that is dragging people with excellent credit into the foreclosure morass.
  
  The jobless rate of 4.4 percent in April of people with bachelor’s degrees isn’t high compared with the overall unemployment rate, but it is more than double what it was a year ago.
  
  Foreclosures are unlikely to peak until 2011, says David Crowe, chief economist of the National Association of Home Builders. He says foreclosures typically hit a high after unemployment does, and he believes the employment situation won’t turn around until late this year. Then rising employment will drive up interest rates, he fears, causing more resets of adjustable rate mortgages, leading to more foreclosures.
  
  Credit Suisse echoes Crowe’s concerns, predicting that scheduled resets will hit a high in 2010 and rates will stay high until 2012.
  
  Source: Business Week, Peter Coy (06/15/2009)

Subprime meltdown over; now comes the bad news

• Subprime meltdown over; now comes the bad news

  The leading cause of foreclosures is NEGATIVE EQUITY, and 25% of prime loans have negative equity, 45% of Alt A loans, 50% of subprime loans, and a staggering 73% of Option Arm Loans. High rates of foreclosure look like they will continue for quite some time.

• So much has been made of the subprime mortgage meltdown that you would think it was almost totally responsible for the economic collapse, and that once the subprime problem was fixed then the worst would be over.

• Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth, despite hitting new highs in foreclosure listing. Instead it was the first round of a three part collapse, and we are on the edge of the second round.

One Million Foreclosures This Year Already

• REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-1 Million Foreclosures This Year

  The Number of Foreclosures nationwide are astounding. What a mess.

• • As of this week, 1 million new foreclosures have been filed in 2009, according to estimates by the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit research and policy organization dedicated to preserving home ownership.
    
    A new foreclosure starts every 13 seconds – nearly 6,500 a day.