Foreclosures Blog – Foreclosure Listings Nationwide

Southern California registered a 31.4 percent increase in its home sales last month compared with year-ago figures. However, the continuous decline of prices of properties at foreclosed home listing has also severely affected the overall housing market prices.

The six-county region of Southern California has an overall median home price of $247,000, a dropped of $3,000 from March price and 35.8 percent down from last year’s April level of $385,000. The county of San Bernardino suffered the most in the month-to-month home price decline, followed by counties of Riverside and Orange.

On a positive note, San Diego’s median home price of $290,000 reflected an increase of $5,000, while Los Angeles’ $300,000 remained unchanged.

Total home sales in Southern California reached 20,514, an increase from 19,486 last March and 15,615 from last year’s April level. With the exception of Ventura County, the region’s five counties experienced more home selling activity.

Meanwhile, San Diego County reported a 20.1 percent increase year-over-year to total sales of 3,375. Additionally, sales at foreclosed home listing involving properties that went through foreclosure proceedings since April last year, accounted for 53.6 percent of all sales generated in Southern California.

April figures represented the seventh consecutive month that post-foreclosure homes accounted for majority of properties resold in Southern California. However, San Diego home sales dropped by almost 47.3 percent, a significant decline from the 55 percent high of January.

According to DataQuick analysts, the home price trend reflects a slow market in high-priced houses. They also noted that since August of 2007, the area has not obtained any mortgage bigger than $417,000. Before August 2007, big mortgages represented about 40 percent of all loans obtained by homeowners in the area. Last April, big mortgages accounted for only 10.9 percent of all loans.

On the other hand, low-priced properties financed by loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) represented almost 39.1 of the total home sales in April, an increase of 18.4 percent from the previous year.

John Walsh, president of DataQuick, said that overall market trends are showing price stabilization. However, the deteriorating job outlook and the possibility of a second round of foreclosures may stop stabilization from settling in at the housing market.

He explained that if the job market fails to improve in the coming months and foreclosed home listing continues to rise, whatever progress in the home sales front achieved in the past months would be all for nothing.

Search Foreclosure Listings by City:

• Baltimore
• West Palm Beach
• Tucson
• Raleigh
• Columbus
• Virginia Beach
• Cleveland
• Sacramento
• San Francisco
• Hollywood

Or Search Foreclosure Listings by State.

Related Posts:

• Foreclosed Home Listing Sales Rose in Southern California
• Grand Rapids Foreclosed Home Listing Sales Over 50 Percent
• Foreclosed Home Listing Prices in Midwestern Cities Down
• Repo Homes Listings Growth in Southern California
• Foreclosed Properties Cut Santa Clara Value Growth

Distressed homeowners trying to save their properties from being placed on a foreclosed home list is faced again with yet another obstacle in achieving financial recovery and security. Unscrupulous people and companies offering bogus foreclosure prevention services are growing in numbers every day.

To help troubled homeowners, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued guidelines on how to avoid fraudulent foreclosure prevention services while they are working to save their houses from foreclosure and restore their credit status.

In its guidelines, the IRS emphasized the importance for troubled homeowners to work only with housing counselors approved by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The agency has a searchable online list of counseling agencies it approved to help homeowners find ways to prevent foreclosures.

The IRS reminded distressed homeowners that housing counselors certified by the HUD offer their services at no cost and do not ask for upfront fees. The agency reiterated that troubled homeowners should avoid dealing with housing counselors who collect fees before providing foreclosure prevention services or who ask for payments in wire transfer and cashier’s check.

In hindsight, any homeowner should not pay cash to anyone unless he knows what services he will be going to receive.

Furthermore, a legitimate housing counselor would not make any guarantee or promise that he would prevent a property from falling into a foreclosed home list. The reality is, certified housing counselors are there to increase the chances of a homeowner to remain in his home.

The IRS also reminded homeowners not to allow anyone to pressure them into signing paperwork without reading and understanding the fine print. The agency suggested for troubled homeowners to consult a lawyer before signing anything that will entail transferring the titles of their properties to another party.

The agency also advises homeowners to follow their instincts. If they feel that they are being targeted for a foreclosure fraud, homeowners should seek help immediately, the IRS said.

With the alarming rate of foreclosures in the country, some government agencies are intensifying their efforts to inform distressed homeowners of their rights and how to avoid fraudulent foreclosed home list prevention schemes. The Federal Trade Commission has a section on its Web site devoted to fraudulent foreclosure rescue services.

Search Foreclosure Listings by City:

• Saint Louis
• Washington DC
• Milwaukee
• Cincinnati
• Seattle
• Greensboro
• Boca Raton
• Dearborn
• Denver
• Boston

Or Search Foreclosure Listings by State.

Related Posts:

• Crackdown on Fraudulent Repo Home Listing Rescue Intensifies
• California AG Arrests 3 Foreclosure Scam Artists
• Foreclosure Help in Colorado and Arizona
• REO Properties for Sale Prevention Program: A Progress Report
• Avoiding Foreclosure is not Impossible

A bill to help cut down the number of foreclosure VA and other foreclosure homes in Nevada has been introduced by Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley in the state legislature.

The bill would require mortgage lenders to work out loan modifications during mediation meetings with borrowers if the borrowers request for mediations.

The bill would also require mortgage lenders to provide notices of default together with contact information for bank personnel authorized to work out loan restructurings, information about a recommended foreclosure counseling agency and information about the rights of distressed homeowners to request mediations for loan modifications.

Mediations would be managed by a judge, a hearing master or a judicial branch designee.

Buckley, who manages a legal aid nonprofit if she is not working in the Legislature, explained that she has been seeing foreclosures on every block that she passes by.

Chief Justice Jim Hardesty has already formed a working group to develop systems and rules for the mediation program. He said the program is a major initiative and it requires more personnel and resources.

Hardesty added that courts have been having backlogs related to cases of forclosure VA and other foreclosure homes. He said that Clark County alone will process 1,200 to 1,500 mediations every month if the program is approved.

But Hardesty also added that many lawyers across Nevada have indicated their commitment to participate in the proposed mediation program to reduce forclosure VA and other foreclosure properties in Nevada.

Last year, 77,693 Nevada properties were hit with foreclosure filings, more than twice total filings in 2007 and more than fivefold the number in 2006, according to RealtyTrac studies.

In the first quarter, Nevada has the biggest foreclosure rate among states, with one house in every 27 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. A total of 41,296 homes have received default and foreclosure notices, with 10,442 already in foreclosure.

In RealtyTrac’s latest report, Nevada continues to have the biggest foreclosure rate among states.

According to the Center for Responsible Lending, there would be around 72,157 homes in Nevada that would be hit with foreclosure filings or would become forclosure VA or foreclosure homes in 2009.

Assembly Speaker Buckley said home values across Nevada have declined by about $6.5 billion over the 2008-2009 period and home prices are still falling, prolonging the cycle of low prices and forclosure VA and other foreclosures.

Related Posts:

• Joblessness and Foreclosure Homes for Sale: Is There a Link?
• Funding to Renovate Properties on Bank Foreclosure List
• New Backers for the Mortgage Reform Bill
• Foreclosures Rate in California Drops in February
• 6-Month Moratorium on Bank Forclosures for Sale in Ohio

Many analysts are saying that the first wave of forclosure homes for sale were the results of high-rate high-risk subprime lending and the second wave of foreclosures are being caused by rising unemployment rates.

Foreclosed homes HUD is increasing in numbers every day, leaving lenders with more abandoned and vacant properties in their inventories. The increase is particularly felt by government-sponsored enterprises Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. or Freddie Mac and Federal National Mortgage Association or Fannie Mae.

It seems that Florida’s foreclosure problem is far from over. In its April report, RealtyTrac said that Florida ranked number 2 among states with the highest number of foreclosed home for sale.

Distressed homes owners can now heave a sigh of relief. The Ohio House has passed HB3 which would delay bank forclosures for sale in the state for six months. Also included in the bill is the new foreclosure filing fee of $750 to help fund foreclosure-prevention counseling.

New home sales in the California Inland counties of San Bernardino and Riverside increased in the first quarter this year, but home builders are still concerned about foreclosures and foreclosure VA lists that continue to haunt California.
Home builders are worried about the continued rise in unemployment and foreclosures, including foreclosure VA lists. The builders said [...]

Hopes for recovery are getting rekindled in Sacramento because of several positive signs in March and April, including increased sales volumes from foreclosed listings in March.

In Oakland, the eighth most populous city in California, the problem of listings of foreclosures has not only been causing housing problems, it has also been ruining the health of people and communities.