Listings of foreclosed homes grew in October in Glendale, a city in Los Angeles County and located in the San Fernando Valley, according to a foreclosure report from a California-based real estate research company.

One out of every 290 homes in Glendale was in default or in foreclosure in October, an increase of 32 percent compared to the previous month, when the rate was one out of every 384 homes. A total of 238 homes went into default or foreclosure in Glendale, showing the adverse effects of high unemployment rates and loans that had terms unfavorable to borrowers.

Keith Sorem, a realtor based in Glendale and working with Keller Williams, said that he expects more foreclosures in the city if the unemployment problem is not addressed.

In contrast, nearby cities such as Burbank and census-designated places such as La Crescenta and La Canada Flintridge experienced drops in foreclosure activity.

La Crescenta had the most substantial drop, falling from a foreclosure rate of one out of every 81 housing units in September to one out every 160 units in October. Realtors, residents and housing advocates were astounded by the sharp foreclosure drop in La Crescenta because the area once had a foreclosure rate of one out of every 48 units in one particular quarter.

According to housing analysts, listings of foreclosed homes declined in some California areas because of the increased focus of federal and state officials on the implementation of the Home Affordable Modification program. The moratorium program of the state also delayed foreclosure actions on many distressed borrowers.

Paul Habibi, a real estate professor at the University of California in Anderson, said the renewal of the first-time buyer tax credit and its expansion to include move-up buyers have helped rejuvenate the housing market. He added that the loan modification program appeared to have slowed the pace of foreclosure activity a bit.

In Burbank, one out of every 298 homes was in foreclosure in October, a drop of 27 percent from September but still an increase of more than 200 percent from foreclosure filings in October last year.

In the La Canada area, one out of every 381 houses was in foreclosure, a drop of 21 percent from September.
Despite the drops in foreclosure activity, housing analysts expect more residential properties to enter listings of foreclosed homes in the coming months after various factors temporarily holding back foreclosures are reversed.

San Diego foreclosure listings have been including a rising number of hotels, based on data from Atlas Hospitality Group, a seller of hotels in California.

In just 8 months, defaulting San Diego hotels has quadrupled in number as the number of owners failing to pay their loans soared in number.

In January, there were only two hotel foreclosures in the San Diego area. In September, there were 4 hotels which went into foreclosure. They were Pacific Coast Inn, Mount Woodson Hotel in Ramona, El Camino Motel and Harbor House in Little Italy.

Over the past months, the hotels that have gone into foreclosure were all the San Diego branches of Extended Stay America, several Home Studio hotels and some units of Mission Plaza Suites.

Across California, a total of 260 hotels have been pushed into default as of September and 47 have been foreclosed.

One of the more prominent San Diego hotels which recently defaulted was the W Hotel, operated by Sunstone Hotel Investors. Sunstone walked out of its loan balance of $65 million. Sunstone has been losing huge amounts of money on the property and could not generate enough sales to pay the loan. Sunstone purchased W Hotel in 2006 for $96 million.

According to Alan Reay, executive of Atlas Hospitality, higher-end resorts and hotels are suffering more than the regular hotels because consumers have been looking for hotel bargains. He expects more hotels to enter San Diego foreclosure listings in the coming months.

One major factor that has stepped up the pace of hotel foreclosures is the increased number of hotel rooms available in San Diego. According to Atlas, 3,400 hotel rooms were added to the hotel room total in the area since 2007. This includes the 1,190 hotel rooms added when San Diego Hilton opened last December to support the city’s convention center.

Hotel owners and operators are saying that the decline in hotel customers and the purchase of cheaper hotels have been pushing downward hotel prices, cutting hotel revenues and forcing more distressed hotels into foreclosure.

According to San Diego hotelier Robert Rauch, investors buying cheap hotels can sharply reduce prices, killing the businesses of owners who bought their properties at full price.

Sunstone is one investor looking for bargain-priced San Diego hotels. It already launched a 20-million-stock public offering to raise funds for the purchase of hotels.

The listings of foreclosed homes in several cities in Minnesota continued to grow unabated, resulting to more problems for the local governments, including falling home prices and values. Now, adding to the miseries brought about by the rising foreclosure rate is the abandoned houses becoming eyesores and health hazards for neighborhoods.

The Minnesota cities of Burnsville and Lakeville do not have the manpower needed to attend to abandoned houses. And as the flood of foreclosures remained unabated, more and more abandoned homes have become eyesores and blights in neighborhoods.

The worsening economic downturn has taken its toll on the finances of Dakota County and local government offices. They were forced to make some budget cuts, including streamlining the number of their staff. That is why they are unprepared to take on the role of caretaker for the growing number of foreclosure properties in their neighborhoods.

Industry experts said that the caring for abandoned, foreclosed properties is not profitable. In fact, the cities have to dig into their budgets to pay for the cost of preventing foreclosure houses from becoming eyesores in communities.

Burnsville property inspector Ron Anderson said that he is overwhelmed by the drastic increase in the number of foreclosure houses in the area. Early this year, the government of Burnsville issued an ordinance that required city home inspectors to handle all issues associated with foreclosure properties. The city promised to reimburse the costs of caring for the foreclosure houses by way of special assessments on the properties.
However, budget cuts forced the city to reduce the number of its staff, from two full-time employees to one inspector. And this resulted to an overwhelming workload. The same is true in Lakeville which currently employs one inspector.

According to industry experts, Lakeville has been relying on a monthly listings of foreclosed homes sales from the Dakota County Community Development Agency to keep abreast of foreclosure properties in the city.
Dakota County has been holding sheriff’s sales of all foreclosed properties. As of September, the county posted 1,349 properties on sheriff’s sales. In 2008, the total sheriff’s sales was 2,063, with the cities of Lakeville, Burnsville, Apple Valley and Eagan holding 300 foreclosures.

Generally, it is the responsibility of mortgage holders to take care of properties they have foreclosed on. However, the issue was muddled by the redemption period of six months in which time homeowners have the chance to recover their properties from listings of foreclosed homes.

Las Vegas foreclosure lists put the city on top of the foreclosure rate chart in the July to September quarter, based on a report released this week by a foreclosure tracking firm.

With one out of every 20 residential units in foreclosure or 5.13 percent of all units, the Las Vegas and Paradise metro area ranked first in a survey of 203 metro areas in the U.S. Over 40,000 housing units in the area were hit with foreclosure filings.

The pace of foreclosure climbed up by almost 54 percent from the same period last year and rose by 5.4 percent from the April to June quarter.

The other Nevada metro area in the top ten was the Reno-Sparks area, where one out of every 37 residential units was hit with foreclosure. More than 4,700 units received foreclosure actions, representing 2.67 percent of all units in the area. Third quarter foreclosures marked a staggering increase of over 80 percent from the same quarter in 2008 and an increase of 14.2 percent from the April to June quarter.

Because of the increase in number of homes in Las Vegas foreclosure lists, home prices in the city fell in September by 37 percent, based on data from a San Diego real estate research firm. The median sales price in the area for all homes and condo units in September decreased to $130,000.

More than 5,000 homes and condos were sold, marking an increase of 17 percent from September 2008 and an increase of over 6 percent from August this year. Purchases made by representatives of absentee buyers comprised around 40 percent of all homes sold in September.

In Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, a total of 3,162 homes and condo units were foreclosed in September. Two-thirds of all pre-owned houses sold in the county were foreclosures that had been repossessed over the past 12 months.

According to the reports, the continued increase in foreclosures in Las Vegas and other metro areas were largely due to the continued rise in unemployment and the resetting of pay-option adjustable mortgage loans. These factors also caused the increase in foreclosures in areas previously immune to significant increases in foreclosures, such as the Boise-Nampa area in Idaho and the Provo-Orem and Salt Lake City areas in Utah.

Home foreclosure listing in the Washington area more than doubled over the past year due to the increase in foreclosures in areas populated by minorities. According to the nonprofit Urban Institute, the possibility is high that minority borrowers took out subprime loans during the boom.

The institute also reported that around 2.7 percent of all mortgage borrowers in the area are in foreclosure, slightly below the 2.9 nationwide average foreclosure percentage, but up from the June 2008 percentage of around 1.4 percent and the June 2007 percentage of around 0.5 percent.

Kathy Pettit, head researcher for the institute report, said that housing analysts were surprised at the increase because the Washington, D.C. area has one of the best economies in the U.S. and one of the lowest in level of subprime lending.

Among counties in the region, the highest rates of properties entering home foreclosure listing are in Prince George’s, where more than 5 percent of all borrowers are facing foreclosure and in Prince William and in Charles, where nearly 4 percent are in foreclosure. These counties have areas where there are a lot of minority homeowners who most probably took out subprime loans.

The problem of foreclosures has not hit the Washington, D.C. area as badly as other foreclosure-battered areas like Nevada, Arizona and Florida, especially at the start of the housing crisis, but the pace of foreclosures has been rising in the capital region.

The number of prime borrowers who previously were not at risk of foreclosures but are now facing financial difficulties is rising, putting more homeowners nearer to default and foreclosure.

Loan modifications for distressed borrowers have been stepped up by lenders because of pressure from federal agencies, but many borrowers could not avail of the offered options because of unemployment.

According to the institute report, 15 percent of all borrowers who defaulted in 2004 never recovered and eventually lost their homes to foreclosure. In 2007, the percentage soared to 47 percent and another 34 percent were sold in distressed sales within 12 months of the default date.

Foreclosures in the area are expected to rise in the next several months because over 8 percent of the mortgages in the area were in default as of June this year, an increase of 6 percent from last year. Based on the report, the high number of mortgages seriously in default could put another 44,000 houses into home foreclosure listing in the Washington, D.C. area in the next several months.

The list of foreclosed homes in Utah declined in October compared to September, but the level of foreclosures in the state is still high, based on a report released this week by a real estate research firm.
Additionally, foreclosure filings across Utah increased by almost 33 percent compared to filings in October last year, much higher than the nationwide increase rate of 19 percent. Analysts cited unemployment as the major reason for the increase in foreclosures.

Over 2,400 residential units in Utah were notified of foreclosure actions in October, representing one out of every 385 units. Nationwide, over 332,000 housing units were hit with foreclosure filings.

According to foreclosure researchers, the drop in foreclosure actions in Utah and in many other states in October compared to September was largely due to the intensified efforts of lenders to modify distressed mortgage loans to be able to comply with federal mandates.

There are also a lot of lenders holding back on their foreclosure actions on defaulting borrowers because they do not want to incur maintenance costs and other costs such as insurance premiums and property taxes.
In Utah, lenders repossessed 761 residential units and added them to their list of foreclosed homes. Nationwide, lenders took back over 77,000 units.

For the 34th consecutive month, Nevada topped the foreclosure rate chart for all states. California, Florida and Arizona were still in the top four, followed by Idaho, Illinois, Michigan and Georgia. Completing the top ten were Maryland and Utah.

Utah however improved its monthly rate change to 34.7 percent, much better than the nationwide rate of 3 percent.

Among metro areas, the Las Vegas area had the highest foreclosure rate in October. One out of every 68 houses in the city got hit with a foreclosure action, more than 5 times the nationwide average foreclosure rate. California cities dominated the top-ten list, with Vallejo and Modesto second and third in ranking and five other California cities in the list.

Housing analysts said that despite the declines, foreclosures remain at their high levels. Many of them even expect more foreclosures in the coming months because of the scheduled resetting of flexible rate mortgage loans, the rising number of foreclosures in high-cost neighborhoods and the continued rise in unemployment rates.

Additionally, since September, only around 1,700 loan modifications out of 650,000 trial loan modifications were made permanent and given much better chances to avoid list of foreclosed homes.

Jacksonville foreclosure lists continued to push first time homebuyers to make their home purchases in September, based on data from the Florida Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors.

According to NAR, first time homebuyers nationwide who completed their home purchases in September to beat the federal tax credit expiration comprised 9.4 percent of all September home sales.

First time homebuyers can time their purchases well because they do not have a home to sell first before buying, unlike homeowners who want to move up or to relocate. According to realtor associations, the trade-up home market in many areas of the country is not active.

In Jacksonville, home sales brokered by members of FAR increased to 1,127 units in September, up by 10 percent from the August sales of 1,024 units. What was significant about the sales however was the sharp drop in the median sales price for single-family houses, which fell sharply from the December price of $150,000 to $139,900 in September. This median was the lowest price level experienced by Jacksonville over the past 5 years.

According to FAR members, the sharp drop in home prices was largely caused by the still large number of residential units in Jacksonville foreclosure lists and the high unemployment rate. The jobless rate in Jacksonville rose to 9.92 in September from 9.86 in August.

Meanwhile, pending home sales in Jacksonville also increased in September, based on data from the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. A total of 1,628 pending home sales contracts were posted while a total of 1,297 sales agreements were closed. Out of these closed sales, 336 were mediated by lenders.

The median sales price remained low, dropping by 15.4 percent to $145,000 compared to September last year.

In addition to the first time homebuyer tax credit, low mortgage rates also enticed buyers to buy, according to realtors. They added that short sales and foreclosure sales continued to slow the housing market, but the increases in pending sales and closed home sales are positive signs.

Local broker Sam Folds said home prices are still low because foreclosure sales and short sales are still driving the market. But he is hoping that the entry of high-end foreclosures into the market will push up prices. He added that bigger foreclosed homes are entering the market because of unemployment.

Foreclosed listing home prices have been slowly rising in Atlanta, despite the continued rise in foreclosure filings in the Atlanta, Marietta and Sandy Springs area.

According to a Seattle-based real estate research firm that monitors home prices nationwide, home prices in Atlanta rose by 2.6 percent in the July to September quarter compared to the previous three-month period. Prices though dropped when compared to the same three-month period in 2008, but the decrease rate is low at 2.8 percent.

Economists say that home price levels in the coming months will be crucial because they will indicate whether the market is really recovering or still in stagnation.

The best performing market in Atlanta during the quarter was Oxford, where home prices increased by a significant 25 percent over the past 12 months. Next was Walton County, where home prices rose by 20 percent.

Other areas of metro Atlanta however are still struggling. In Jonesboro, Lake City and Forest Park, house prices dropped by over 37 percent.

Compared to other metro areas, the Atlanta metro area ranked 53rd in a home price improvement chart for 156 large metropolitan areas tracked by the real estate firm.

Meanwhile, another real estate research firm reported that around 2.6 percent of houses in the Atlanta metro area are in default or in foreclosure and that many of these ultimately go into foreclosed listing home inventories. But the foreclosure rate in the area is still below the national average rate.

The increase in home prices was also observed by Standard & Poor’s and Case-Shiller. Their 20-city home price index for August showed an annualized increase of nearly 7 percent, marking the third consecutive month of continued recovery. The index reading increased by one percent from the previous month to 144.5.

While home prices dropped by 11.4 percent compared to August 2008, the rate of annual declines have been slowing down since February. The home price index by Standard & Poor’s for metro Atlanta rose by one percent from the previous month of July to 111.19.

It will be seen in the coming months how the rise in foreclosure filings in the July to September quarter will affect foreclosed listing home price levels in metro Atlanta. During this quarter, nearly 25,000 houses in the Atlanta metro area were notified of defaults or foreclosures, representing 1.2 percent of all residential units in the area.

Great home buying opportunities exist in foreclosure home listing in Minnesota as home prices continue to fall throughout the state.

In addition to a greatly improved home affordability, the unemployment rate in Minnesota is also improving, giving better profit and employment prospects for investors and home buyers.

In September, the state unemployment rate dropped to 7.3 percent, as the national jobless rate rose to 9.8 percent. The Minnesota Employment and Economic Development Department reported that around 15,000 more residents got jobs in September, although 7,900 workers lost their jobs during the month.

Home prices in Minnesota, particularly in the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, have been falling because of the continued rise in foreclosures. According to realtors in the state, many houses for sale are down to their price levels in 2000.

As reported recently by a foreclosure monitoring firm, the pace of foreclosures in Minnesota increased by over 16 percent in the July to September quarter, compared to the previous period. The foreclosure rate of one out of every 217 homes put Minnesota 18th in a ranking of U.S. states based on foreclosure growth rates.

A total of 10,620 default and foreclosure notices were filed, with more than 5,000 residential units posted in foreclosure home listing. Compared to the same three-month period last year, the foreclosure pace this year in Minnesota rose by more than 100 percent.

According to local realtors, house sales have been rising in Saint Paul and Minneapolis because of sharply reduced prices. Other factors are lower mortgage rates and the efforts of first time homebuyers to beat the expiration of the federal tax credit.

The realtors also reported that almost 50 percent of home sales in recent weeks in Saint Paul and Minnesota are foreclosures and short sales. The prediction that more residential properties will enter the market has been welcomed by prospective home buyers, but has been causing concerns in the housing sector. Analysts have predicted that house prices in Saint Paul and Minneapolis will fall further by more than 15 percent.

The cities of Duluth and Rochester have also been enduring price declines, but at a slower rate than the Twin Cities. House prices in both cities have been declining by more than 6 percent, although Rochester is holding up more strongly, with its foreclosure home listing still filled with a lot of affordable residential units.

Stockton foreclosure listings continue to grow because of the high level of unemployment in the area. Although the pace of foreclosures slowed down slightly in the July to September quarter compared to the same period last year, the rate of foreclosure in the area still increased by nearly 2 percent from the previous three-month period.

In San Joaquin County, where Stockton is located, the unemployment rate hit 15.5 percent in September, with more than 47,000 losing their jobs in September out of a total workforce of 304,600.

According to the Employment Development Department of California, the employment sectors that laid off the highest number of workers in September were the construction, transportation, warehousing and limited-service restaurant sectors.

A lot of federal government workers were also laid off, with the Defense Department the only government agency that did not terminate employees in September. The EDD said that nearly 20 percent of workers in the building and contracting sector were laid off in September.

Based on a regional economics study released by the nonprofit Great Valley Center for the Central Valley, where San Joaquin is located, the valley is very different geographically, culturally and economically from other regions in California. Although the Central Valley tops other California regions in agricultural production, the valley lags the state based on income.

The unique challenges faced by the region have been contributing to the still high number of properties entering Stockton foreclosure listings. The nonprofit report said that many areas of the region have high population growth rates, but also high unemployment rates. The region also provides some of the lowest wage rates and has the highest income disparities in the state and in the U.S.

In 2007, the per capita income of the Central Valley was only around $29,000, which is among the nation’s lowest and which is 29 percent lower than the average in California. The analysts contended that if the valley were a U.S. state, it would be 48th among the states based on per capita income.

In terms of housing, new building permits dropped by a staggering 404 percent in the valley last year compared to 2005, with the northern San Joaquin area suffering the sharpest drop of 853 percent.

Foreclosures hit the valley hard, with north San Joaquin again suffering the most with the highest rate of foreclosure in the region.