U.S. Foreclosure Filings Rise 16% as Bank Seizures Set Record

U.S. Foreclosure Filings Rise 16% as Bank Seizures Set Record
April 15, 2010, Business Week

Foreclosure filings in the U.S. rose 16 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier and bank seizures hit a record as lenders stepped up action against delinquent homeowners, according to RealtyTrac Inc. “The banks are finally working through it,” Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac’s executive vice president for marketing, said in a telephone interview. “We’re seeing a resolution for properties that were in foreclosure but where seizure was delayed.” Also see: Reuters, USA TODAY, The Associated Press, and ABC News via AP.


Defaults Rise in Loan Modification Program
April 14, 2010, New York Times

The number of homeowners who defaulted on their mortgages even after securing cheaper terms through the government’s modification program nearly doubled in March, continuing a trend that could undermine the entire program. Data released Wednesday by the Treasury Department and the Housing and Urban Development Department showed that 2,879 modified loans had been ended since the program’s inception in the fall, up from 1,499 in February and 1,005 in January.


Banks Resist Plans to Reduce Mortgage Balances
April 15, 2010, New York Times

In a rebuff to the Obama administration, two big banks on Tuesday drew a line in the sand on cutting the mortgage balances of beleaguered homeowners, saying that the tool would be applied sparingly.


Signs Seen of a Housing Rebound in Southern California
April 14, 2010, Los Angeles Times

Southern California's housing market showed fresh signs of momentum in March with the median price and sales pace improving from the same month a year earlier as buyers hurried to take advantage of a soon-to-expire federal tax incentive, cheap prices and low interest rates. The median price paid for new and previously occupied houses and condominiums in Southern California jumped 14% in March to $285,000 from the same month a year earlier, according to San Diego real estate research firm MDA DataQuick. The closely watched median — the price at which half the homes sold for more money and half for less — rose 3.6% from February.