A new report from RealtyTrac showed that April foreclosure numbers decreased
annually
for the first time since 2005. Daren Blomquist is
the managing editor of the RealtyTrac foreclosure news report. For this
episode of In This Corner, he says while the new record is good news, there
is still a lot of work to be done.Is there a finish-line in sight on the foreclosure crisis? The industry
feels like it's been running a marathon. What would be the road signs to let
it know it's close?I think the year-over-year decrease in national foreclosure activity in
April is a definite sign that there is an end in sight, but on the other
hand the record REO numbers show that we've got a lot of backlogged
inventory stopped up in the foreclosure process that needs to be cleared
before we can return to a balanced, healthy market.What markets are heading in the right direction, and which are lagging
behind?Many markets in California appear to be headed in the right direction, with
decreasing foreclosures, particularly in the Notice of Default category.
We've seen five consecutive months of year-over-year declines in California,
including April. We saw six straight months of year-over-year declines in
Nevada through March, and the April numbers were down less than 1%, so
that's another state I would say is headed in the right direction. Arizona
has seen three straight months of year-over-year declines, although the
decline in March was less than 1%, and New York has also seen three straight
months of year-over year declines.Florida may be lagging behind that trend a bit. We saw a year-over-year
decline in April, but year-over-year increases in the previous five months.Georgia has seen five straight months of year-over-year increases after a
decline in November, as has Colorado. Colorado was actually looking on the
right track for much of 2009, when it posted year-over-year declines in
seven of 12 months and dropped out of the top-10 foreclosure rates for much
of the year. But it was back in the top 10 in March and April this year.Hawaii has also been flirting with the top 10 over the past few months. It
was tenth in December and eleventh in April. Hawaii has seen 35 straight
months of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity. Similarly Utah
has seen 30 straight months of year-over-year increases and has consistently
ranked in the top 10 over the past year.The sand states still hold such a majority of the foreclosures. What has led
to the disparity?Actually, of the top five states with the most foreclosure activity in terms
of raw numbers, three are sand states (California, Florida, Arizona) but two
are Rust Belt states (Illinois, Michigan). However, the sand states
definitely dominate the top-five foreclosure rates and we believe that
because the housing bubble was most inflated in those states, leading to
many real estate transactions (both purchases and re-financings) during the
bubble and highly susceptible to foreclosure when the bubble collapsed.From what you're seeing, are foreclosures outpacing modifications?Yes. We've seen at least 250,00 properties receive a default notice or be
scheduled for public foreclosure auction each month over the past year, and
I believe the most recent permanent modifications number I've seen is
230,000 total.RealtyTrac has become the brand-name in foreclosure data during the current
crisis. You're just short of Coca-Cola. What new data sets or processes is
the company working on to give the industry even more insight?We're working on a foreclosure sales report for sometime in the next month
or two that will show what percentage of sales are sales of properties in
some stage of the foreclosure process and the average discount on a
foreclosure purchase, among other things.We're also working on a report that will show the average time it takes to
foreclose on a property on a state-by-state and even county-by-county basis.
We're also considering a report that would focus on commercial foreclosures.
annually
for the first time since 2005. Daren Blomquist is
the managing editor of the RealtyTrac foreclosure news report. For this
episode of In This Corner, he says while the new record is good news, there
is still a lot of work to be done.Is there a finish-line in sight on the foreclosure crisis? The industry
feels like it's been running a marathon. What would be the road signs to let
it know it's close?I think the year-over-year decrease in national foreclosure activity in
April is a definite sign that there is an end in sight, but on the other
hand the record REO numbers show that we've got a lot of backlogged
inventory stopped up in the foreclosure process that needs to be cleared
before we can return to a balanced, healthy market.What markets are heading in the right direction, and which are lagging
behind?Many markets in California appear to be headed in the right direction, with
decreasing foreclosures, particularly in the Notice of Default category.
We've seen five consecutive months of year-over-year declines in California,
including April. We saw six straight months of year-over-year declines in
Nevada through March, and the April numbers were down less than 1%, so
that's another state I would say is headed in the right direction. Arizona
has seen three straight months of year-over-year declines, although the
decline in March was less than 1%, and New York has also seen three straight
months of year-over year declines.Florida may be lagging behind that trend a bit. We saw a year-over-year
decline in April, but year-over-year increases in the previous five months.Georgia has seen five straight months of year-over-year increases after a
decline in November, as has Colorado. Colorado was actually looking on the
right track for much of 2009, when it posted year-over-year declines in
seven of 12 months and dropped out of the top-10 foreclosure rates for much
of the year. But it was back in the top 10 in March and April this year.Hawaii has also been flirting with the top 10 over the past few months. It
was tenth in December and eleventh in April. Hawaii has seen 35 straight
months of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity. Similarly Utah
has seen 30 straight months of year-over-year increases and has consistently
ranked in the top 10 over the past year.The sand states still hold such a majority of the foreclosures. What has led
to the disparity?Actually, of the top five states with the most foreclosure activity in terms
of raw numbers, three are sand states (California, Florida, Arizona) but two
are Rust Belt states (Illinois, Michigan). However, the sand states
definitely dominate the top-five foreclosure rates and we believe that
because the housing bubble was most inflated in those states, leading to
many real estate transactions (both purchases and re-financings) during the
bubble and highly susceptible to foreclosure when the bubble collapsed.From what you're seeing, are foreclosures outpacing modifications?Yes. We've seen at least 250,00 properties receive a default notice or be
scheduled for public foreclosure auction each month over the past year, and
I believe the most recent permanent modifications number I've seen is
230,000 total.RealtyTrac has become the brand-name in foreclosure data during the current
crisis. You're just short of Coca-Cola. What new data sets or processes is
the company working on to give the industry even more insight?We're working on a foreclosure sales report for sometime in the next month
or two that will show what percentage of sales are sales of properties in
some stage of the foreclosure process and the average discount on a
foreclosure purchase, among other things.We're also working on a report that will show the average time it takes to
foreclose on a property on a state-by-state and even county-by-county basis.
We're also considering a report that would focus on commercial foreclosures.
via Ping.fm
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