Tuesday, April 24, 2012

CA Foreclosures in Q1 Lowest Since Q2 2007

DQ News --"The number of California homes entering the formal foreclosure process during the first quarter declined to its lowest level in almost five years, the result of a more stable economy and housing market, as well as policies that increasingly favor short sales.

A total of 56,258 Notices of Default (NODs) were recorded at county recorders offices during the first quarter of this year. That was down 8.5% from 61,517 for the prior three months, and down 17.6% from 68,239 in first-quarter 2011. Last quarter's tally of 56,258 NODs was the lowest since 53,943 NODs were recorded in second-quarter 2007. NOD filings peaked in first-quarter 2009 at 135,431.

"Prices peaked five years ago and then started to fall off a cliff. Foreclosure activity goes up when property values decline, and the worst of that decline was happening three years ago. Right now, property values in many areas appear flat," said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

"A few years back, there were some breathtakingly negative forecasts making the rounds regarding the foreclosure problem, some of which have played out, and some of which haven't. The 'shadow supply' has yet to result in a second huge wave of foreclosures. The 'reset problem' hasn't really materialized, largely because interest rates are resetting down, not up. And, remarkably, whole batches of presumed 'toxic' mortgages continue to perform. There's no doubt that housing, especially negative equity, is one of the biggest drags on a struggling economy, but it's not necessarily playing out the way some pundits thought," he said."

4 Comments:

At 4/25/2012 4:08 AM, Blogger rjs said...

i liked this line:

The most active "beneficiaries" in the formal foreclosure process last quarter were Bank of America (10,419), Wells Fargo (7,577), Bank of New York (5,380) and JP Morgan (5,343).

 
At 4/25/2012 10:01 AM, Blogger knifecatcher said...

“To reach the conclusion that there will be a wave of foreclosures, you have to assume that the banks either want to foreclose – they don’t – or will be forced to foreclose – they won’t. In September 2008 the rules of the game were changed to help the banks remain solvent, and since then it has been in their best interest to find reasons to delay foreclosures through whatever means necessary. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”
Sean O’Toole of Foreclosure Radar

Lenders don’t want to foreclose because they don’t want to recognize the losses, and now with nearly two years of declining prices since the expiration of the tax credit in May of 2010, lenders have another reason not to foreclose: their REO were causing prices to go down. Since last fall lenders have been putting fewer and fewer of their REO on the market to reduce MLS inventories and reverse the downward course of prices.

 
At 4/25/2012 11:03 AM, Blogger Benjamin Cole said...

SoCal residential markets have stabilized, outside on inland areas, and some appreciation even.

You can check it on Redfin, Trulia or any number of real estate information services.

The Fed needs to get a lot more bullish btw.

 
At 4/26/2012 12:06 PM, Blogger VangelV said...

I guess if we keep posting positive real estate stories we are bound to be right one of these years. How many of you are lining up to purchase CA properties?

 

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