ForeclosurePulse Blog

Fannie: Q1 a Swift Kick in the Rear

joelc — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:30:00 GMT

It may have been created and chartered by the federal government, but Fannie Mae (the Federal National Mortgage Association) is first and foremost a private company responsible to shareholders for running at a profit. And as with many corporations in this country, the national economy is kicking Fannie around…fast and hard!...(read more)

The Trickle Down Effecting High-Tech

joelc — Fri, 02 May 2008 15:00:00 GMT

The prolonged housing slump is having a measurable effect on the overall economy, and not just on home furnishings and housing supply chains (like Linens N’ Things, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection)....(read more)

Rate Cut, Real GDP Are Some Positive News

joelc — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:30:00 GMT

One day after President Bush pointed the finger at Congress and told the American public to blame lawmakers for all of their recent financial woes, an inkling of actual positive news came out of Washington Wednesday with two announcements from government agencies....(read more)

Clear Signs That It’s Not Over Yet

joelc — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:15:00 GMT

The downward spiral that has sent this nation’s real estate market reeling out of control is far from over yet. For all the election year rhetoric flying around these days about the general state of the national economy, although the situation is not all doom and gloom, the news does not look as good as the politicians would like you to believe…for right now at least....(read more)

A Small Silver Lining in Q1 Foreclosure Storm

darenb — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 09:00:00 GMT

While foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2008 was up on a year-over-year basis in 90 percent of the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas, according to the RealtyTrac Q1 report issued today, there were a few notable exceptions that could prove to be a harbinger of hope for the nation's battered housing market. On the other hand, those exceptions could just turn out to be a source of false hope, perpetuated in part by short-term foreclosure solutions that are about as effective as a five-gallon bailing bucket on the sinking Titanic.

The notable exceptions included Detroit — a longtime posterchild for the foreclosure meltdown — and Philadelphia, along with a few other Pennsylvania metro areas. Foreclosure activity in Detroit was down nearly 4 percent from the first quarter of 2007, although the city's foreclosure rate still ranked No. 6 among the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas. Philadelphia's foreclosure rate ranked No. 82, thanks in part to a 30 percent year-over-year decrease in foreclosure activity.

Dispatches from Detroit indicate that free-market forces may be the catalyst. The Detroit Free Press reported that "Detroit home sales shot up 30.8% in March, spurred by investors taking advantage of low prices on foreclosed properties." Detroit home prices have hit a low enough threshold to become appealing to bargain buyers and investors. That in turn allows lenders to start unloading foreclosure inventory, easing a heavy burden that has been weighing down the city's housing market.

Different forces may be at work in Philadelphia, helping that city's foreclosure rate remain relatively low. A moratorium on all foreclosure sales scheduled in April there has now been replaced by a pilot program that delays foreclosure proceedings on owner-occupied properties until the homeowner and lender meet in a "conciliation conference," according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. Foreclosure sales originally scheduled for April and May will be postponed until at least July.

Meanwhile, foreclosure activity continues to increase at a torrid pace in many of the now-familiar foreclosure hot spots: up 291 percent annually in Stockton, Calif., which posted the highest foreclosure rate among the 100 largest metro areas; up 134 percent in Las Vegas, No. 3 on the list; up 294 percent in Phoenix; and up 249 percent in Orlando.

View full Q1 2008 foreclosure report.

‘BK’ Doesn’t Stand for Burger King

joelc — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 22:30:00 GMT

The only kind of whopper a person with this kind of ‘BK’ is going to get is a whopper of a headache. In this, the legal sense for the abbreviation, we’re talking about BANKRUPTCY. And for struggling homeowners it often represents what they think is the last stand they can take before losing their home to foreclosure....(read more)

Too Soon For a Comeback

joelc — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:00:00 GMT

At present it does not appear that there is enough evidence yet to declare that a market comeback is in the offing. The bottom line is that no one can say anything with 100 percent certainty given the current state of our national economy....(read more)

Foreclosure Crisis Sparks Surge in Arson

Octavion — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:10:00 GMT

In desperate times people resort to desperate measures. Facing foreclosure, some homeowners are setting fire to their homes for the insurance money. But they usually end up with a criminal conviction instead of cash.

Consider the following:

In South Carolina, a homeowner was charged with burning her home on the eve of foreclosure.

In Massachusetts, there’s a growing concern that foreclosure arson is becoming a problem around the state as more and more properties are abandoned.

In Colorado, a homeowner was convicted for setting his home on fire to prevent the lender from repossessing the property.

“We’ve seen a dramatic increase in this kind of fraud,” Dan Bales, the head of fraud investigations at Mercury Insurance, told the Los Angeles Times. “People upside-down on their house with variable-interest-rate loans, or upside-down on their cars, are pretty quick to burn their property right now.”

Foreclosure arson has doubled in California from 7 homes last year to 14 homes so far in 2008, according to insurance officials. These crimes are expected to rise as the economy continues to worsen.

Even after being convicted of the crime, the homeowner still has to pay off the lender — and the damage doesn’t end there. Neighbors are getting burned too, when higher premiums are passed on to them by insurance companies.

What are your thoughts on this hot topic? ForeclosurePulse wants to know.

OTS Director Offers Alternative Plan to Congress

joelc — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:00:00 GMT

In a statement delivered before the Committee on Financial Services of the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week, John M. Reich, Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), offered an alternative foreclosure prevention plan to the one under consideration from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)....(read more)

New Poll: Buyers to Remain on the Fence

joelc — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 19:30:00 GMT

If the results of the latest Associated Press-AOL Money & Finance poll are any indication, prospective home buyers will be keeping their wallets closed and remain on the fence at least until the latest economic downturn blows over. And that could be years down the road....(read more)