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Shedding Light on Shadow Inventory

darenb — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 20:14:00 GMT

The term shadow inventory has become quite a buzz word over the past couple years, representing all that is uncertain and scary in this housing market. But shedding light on that shadow inventory is what is needed to face the true scope of the problem and remove all the uncertainty surrounding it. I was honored to help shed a little light on shadow inventory in the March 2012 issue of Cityscape , a journal of policy development and research published by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban...(read more)

14-Year Old Girl Buys Foreclosed Home in Florida

Octavion — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Unlike most teenagers, 14-year old Willow Tufano is cashing in on her dreams. Instead of buying herself an Xbox or an iPad, she purchased a foreclosed property. Tufano bought a foreclosed home with her Realtor mother, Sharon Moore, for $12,000, according to San Francisco Chronicle blogger Anna Marie Hibble. In Florida, minors can’t buy real estate until they are 18, so Tufano and her mother purchased the property together. Willow saved $6,000 by selling items she found in abandoned foreclosed...(read more)

Foreclosure Activity Edges Higher in January

Octavion — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:42:00 GMT

Foreclosure Activity Edges Higher in January By Alex Veiga, Associated Press, Feb 16, 2012 Banks took back more U.S. homes in January than in the previous month, the latest sign that foreclosures are accelerating after slowing sharply last year while lenders sorted out foreclosure-abuse claims. Foreclosures rose 8 percent nationally last month from December, but were down 15 percent from a year earlier, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac said Thursday. Also see Washington Post, Chicago Tribune,...(read more)

RealtyTrac, Foreclosures Made Up 31 Pct. of Home Sales in 2Q

Octavion — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:54:00 GMT

Foreclosures Made Up 31 Pct. of Home Sales in 2Q By Derek Kravitz, Associated Press, Aug. 25, 2011 Foreclosures made up roughly one-third of all home sales this spring. While that's a smaller share of sales from the previous quarter, it's six times the percentage of foreclosures in a healthy housing market. Foreclosure sales, which include homes purchased after they received a notice of default or that were repossessed by lenders, accounted for 31 percent of the market in the April-June quarter...(read more)

RealtyTrac: Foreclosure Homes Account for 31 Percent of All U.S. Sales in Q2 2011

Octavion — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT

RealtyTrac reports: Foreclosure Homes Account for 31 Percent of All U.S. Sales in Q2 2011 The U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report™ showed that sales of homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for 31 percent of all U.S. residential sales in the second quarter of 2011, down from nearly 36 percent of all sales in the first quarter but up from 24 percent of all sales in the second quarter of 2010. “With average prices on distressed real estate trending down and average...(read more)

Time for More Housing Stimulus?

Octavion — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:37:00 GMT

Time for More Housing Stimulus? By Nick Timiraos, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 22, 2011 A New York congressman — Rep. Gary Ackerman (D., N.Y.) — is preparing legislation designed to provide a heavy dose of stimulus to the housing market by enticing first-time home buyers and investors to buy homes. Billed as a 21st century version of the “Homestead Act,” the legislation is designed to help plow through a glut of foreclosed homes that are weighing on housing markets. Housing demand...(read more)

Foreclosure Reforms May be Coming to a Head

Octavion — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:57:00 GMT

Housing Starts in U.S. Fell in July as Construction Stagnated By Shobhana Chandra, Bloomberg News, Aug.16, 2011 Builders began work on fewer homes in July, indicating residential real estate is failing to contribute to U.S. growth two years into an economic recovery. Housing starts fell 1.5 percent to a 604,000 annual rate, from June’s 613,000 pace that was less than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed. Building permits, a proxy for future construction, also dropped. Nevada...(read more)

Homeowners Who Want to Trade Up are Stuck Waiting

Octavion — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:34:00 GMT

Housing Bust Reverses Ownership Gains By Dawn Wotapka, Wall Street Journal, July 29, 2011, The number of Americans who own their homes continued to decline in recent months and now is at the lowest level since early 1998. The nation’s home-ownership rate stood at a seasonally adjusted 66% in the second quarter, down from 66.4% in the first quarter and 66.9% in the second quarter a year ago, the Census Bureau reported Friday. Homeowners Who Want to Trade Up are Stuck Waiting By Alejandro Lazo...(read more)

RealtyTrac's Sharga Says Housing Market Hasn't Bottomed

Octavion — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 16:22:00 GMT

RealtyTrac's Sharga Says Housing Market Hasn't Bottomed June 21, 2011, Bloomberg Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, discusses the outlook for the US housing market. Sharga speaks with Mark Crumpton on Bloomberg Television's "Bottom Line." Banks Will Be Sued If Foreclosure Talks Collapse, Two States Say June 22, 2011, San Francisco Chronicle Two state attorneys general who are among those leading negotiations with the five largest U.S. mortgage servicers over their...(read more)

7 Reasons Why Now’s a Good Time to Buy a Home

Octavion — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 15:42:00 GMT

7 Reasons Why Now’s a Good Time to Buy a Home June 8, 2011, CBS Money Watch The bad news for the housing market sometimes seems like it will never end. In the latest round of housing data, home prices continued to drop as did the number of home sales. Foreclosures remain a major weight dragging down everything, and then there’s the massive shadow inventory of distressed homes that will create more supply overflow as they are brought onto the market. Add up all of that, and suggesting...(read more)

RealtyTrac: Sales of Foreclosed Homes 'Astronomically High' in Q1

Octavion — Thu, 26 May 2011 16:33:00 GMT

RealtyTrac: Sales of Foreclosed Homes 'Astronomically High' in Q1 May 26, 2011, Associated Press Sales of bank-owned homes constituted a slightly larger percentage of all sales in the first quarter versus the end of last year, according to market researcher RealtyTrac. Also see: CNN Money , Bloomberg and Reuters . California and Illinois Expand Foreclosure Probes May 25, 2011, Associated Press The top prosecutors in California and Illinois are investigating allegations that one of the nation's...(read more)

RealtyTrac’s CEO James J. Saccacio Receives Distinguished Alumni Award

Octavion — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:31:00 GMT

RealtyTrac’s CEO James J. Saccacio Receives Distinguished Alumni Award May 13, 2011, News Release RealtyTrac® ( www.realtytrac.com ), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today announced that RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James J. Saccacio will receive the 2011 Distinguished Alumni Award from Southern Methodist University at a luncheon today, Friday, May 13, 2011, in Dallas, Texas. April Home Sales in Southern California Hit Three-year Low May 13, 2011, Los Angeles...(read more)

The ‘Right’ Foreclosure Fix

Octavion — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:36:00 GMT

The ‘Right’ Foreclosure Fix April 15, 2011, Wall Street Journal When last year's mini-scandal about sloppy mortgage practices erupted, two public policy approaches emerged: Banking regulators wanted to identify mortgage servicers' bad practices and fix them. The Department of Justice, state Attorneys General, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and others wanted to use the episode to punish companies and score political points. That distinction became clearer Wednesday when...(read more)

Foreclosure Filings Hit 3-year Low, Report Shows

Octavion — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 22:55:00 GMT

Foreclosure Filings Hit 3-year Low, Report Shows April 14, 2011, Reuters U.S. foreclosure filings fell in the first quarter to the lowest level since early 2008 amid an ongoing backlog following last year's halt in activity, according to a RealtyTrac report on Thursday. Default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions were reported on 681,153 properties, down 14.8 percent from the previous quarter and a drop of 26.9 percent from the first quarter of 2010. In Financial Crisis, No Prosecutions...(read more)

Critical Signs in Foreclosure Talks

Octavion — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:10:00 GMT

Critical Signs in Foreclosure Talks Wall Street Journal, April 12, 2011 Hopes are fading for a far-reaching settlement between regulators and banks over improper home foreclosures as some regulators press ahead to reach their own settlements with banks that others involved in the talks deem weak. The dispute pits federal regulators against state attorneys general, who are seeking stiff penalties and comprehensive changes in the way banks foreclose on homeowners and modify loans. Advocates of tougher...(read more)

Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Rose 2.1% in February

Octavion — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:31:00 GMT

Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Rose 2.1% in February March 28, 2011, Bloomberg A gain in the number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes in February failed to make up for the ground lost a month earlier, a sign the U.S. housing market has yet to join the economic recovery. The index of pending home re-sales increased 2.1 percent after a 2.8 percent drop the prior month, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. Mortgage Faceoff Looms...(read more)

Foreclosure Filings Plunge in November

Octavion — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 16:21:00 GMT

Foreclosure Filings Plunge in November December 16, 2010, Reuters Foreclosure filings plunged in November from the month before as mortgage companies being scrutinized for court processing errors halted activity, according to a RealtyTrac report on Thursday. Homeowners received 262,339 notices of default, auctions and bank repossessions last month, a drop of 21 percent from October and the steepest decline since RealtyTrac first published the statistics in January 2005. U.S. Housing Starts Rise for...(read more)

Case-Shiller, by Metro Area

Octavion — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 17:28:00 GMT

A Look at Case-Shiller, by Metro Area November 30, 2010, Wall Street Journal The S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index, which is released on a quarterly basis, posted a 2% decline from the previous quarter and are 1.5% below year-earlier levels. On a monthly basis, 18 cities notched declines from August, compared to 15 month-on-month drops in August and just eight the July report. Seasonal variations can distort month-on-month comparisons. Based on a seasonal adjustment calculated by S&P...(read more)

REOs Fall Amid 'Robo-Signing' Stall

Octavion — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:43:00 GMT

REOs Fall Amid 'Robo-Signing' Stall November 11, 2010, Inman News After hitting a record high in September, bank repossessions fell 9 percent in October -- likely the result of foreclosure freezes by some major lenders, according to a report by foreclosure data site RealtyTrac. Total foreclosure activity in October -- default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions -- fell 4.4 percent from September, though remained essentially flat from October 2009. A total of 332,172 properties...(read more)

Sharga Says Unemployment Now Main Cause of Foreclosures

Octavion — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:19:00 GMT

Sharga Says Unemployment Now Main Cause of Foreclosures October 28, 2010, Bloomberg via The Washington Post Rick Sharga, senior vice president for marketing at RealtyTrac Inc., talks with Bloomberg's Lisa Murphy about U.S. home foreclosures and the outlook for the housing market. Foreclosure Mess Will Take Years to Clean Up October 28, 2010, MSNBC.com How long will it take before the American nightmare of home foreclosures is over? Three years after the housing bubble collapsed under the weight...(read more)

Nearly One in Four Second-quarter Home Sales a Foreclosure

Octavion — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:51:00 GMT

Nearly One in Four Second-quarter Home Sales a Foreclosure September 30, 2010, Reuters Nearly one in every four U.S. homes sold in the second quarter was a deeply discounted foreclosed house, putting the market on pace to work through distressed properties in about three years, RealtyTrac said. Wall Street Journal . Bloomberg . Los Angeles Times . USA TODAY . J.P. Morgan Chase to Freeze Foreclosures Over Flawed Paperwork September 29, 2010, Washington Post J.P. Morgan Chase, one of the nation's...(read more)

Are You a Real Estate Optimist or Pessimist?

Octavion — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:26:00 GMT

(Please visit the site to view this media) Real estate pessimists are everywhere. You can’t escape their group-think doom-and-gloom message about housing and homeownership. I often wonder if these housing naysayers are angry renters unable to afford a home because they don’t save their money. Consider Time magazine’s cover story last week by Barbara Kiviat titled “Rethinking Homeownership,” where she argues that “owning a home may no longer make economic sense...(read more)

10 Reasons To Buy a Home

Octavion — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:30:00 GMT

10 Reasons To Buy a Home September 16, 2010, Wall Street Journal Enough with the doom and gloom about homeownership. Sure, maybe there's more pain to come in the housing market. But when Time magazine starts running covers that declare "Owning a home may no longer make economic sense," it's time to say: Enough is enough. This is what "capitulation" looks like. Everyone has given up. After all, at the peak of the bubble five years ago, Time had a different take. "Home...(read more)

US Homes Lost to Foreclosure Up 25% on Year

Octavion — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 15:41:00 GMT

US Homes Lost to Foreclosure Up 25% on Year September 16, 2010, Associated Press Lenders took back more homes in August than in any month since the start of the U.S. mortgage crisis. The increase in home repossessions came even as the number of properties entering the foreclosure process slowed for the seventh month in a row, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. In all, banks repossessed 95,364 properties last month, up 3 percent from July and an increase of 25 percent from August...(read more)

Economist Shiller Sees Potential for 'Double Dip' Recession

Octavion — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:59:00 GMT

Economist Shiller Sees Potential for 'Double Dip' Recession Wall Street Journal, August 28, 2010 With the U.S. economic recovery losing steam, the chances of a second phase of a slowdown are increasing, according to a leading economist. Speaking in The Wall Street Journal's The Big Interview show, Robert Shiller, professor of economics at Yale University, said he thought the second dip down of a so-called double-dip recession "may be imminent." Earlier this month, he told the...(read more)