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real estate video-foreclosure

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California foreclosure auction rising

June 14th, 2011, posted by Marilyn Kalfus, real estate reporter

More foreclosure auctions were scheduled in California  in May than in April, the first month-over month increase in 2011, according to a report by ForeclosureRadar.com. Also in May, California saw the fewest foreclosure starts — notices of default — since October 2008, when a state law temporarily halted the notice of default process, the report shows. But actual foreclosure auctions in the state have sped up, with cancellations down 24.3% from April and 18% from the prior year. In addition, said Sean O’Toole, ForeclosureRadar CEO: “Third party investors resold the homes they previously purchased at auction at a faster pace throughout our coverage area. As the most sophisticated and motivated homesellers in the marketplace, these investors provide an important indicator as to the health of the entire housing market. “While the statistic is encouraging, it’s too early to tell whether it is a turning point from the otherwise recent downward trend within the housing market,” he wrote in his blog.

Highlights from the report:

• More foreclosures were scheduled for sale at auctions in May, with notice of trustee sale filings up 16.6% from April, the first month-over-month increase this year. They still were down 9% from May a year ago.
• Notices of default fell 4% from April to May and 16.5% from May 2010.
• Foreclosure sales on the courthouse steps were up, with 3.4% more homes going back to banks and 4.1% increase in foreclosed properties sold to investors. 
• The average time to foreclose continued to increase, up 10.3% to a new record of 344 days.
• Time to resell went down 7.6% month-over-month to 134 days, the fewest number of days since September 2010. That’s likely due at least partly to a lack of foreclosure inventory throughout much of California, the report said.
• The number of foreclosure starts also dropped from April to May in four other Western states monitered by ForeclosureRadar: Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

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Latest on Orange County home sales

Orange County homebuying continues to run well below historical trends, plummeting 18% from a year ago as a slow spring shopping season had to compete with a tax-incentive-fueled market of 2010.

Overall, 2,664 Orange County residence sold last month vs. 3,257 a year ago. That is a 18.2% drop. Median selling price? $425,000 vs. $450,000 a year ago or a 5.6% decline. Through June 2010, federal and state tax incentives motivated shoppers to buy homes.
May isn’t alone, as the entire year has been slow. Looking at the first five months of 2010 …

• 11,596 residences sold — down 7% from 2010.
• Since 1988, 2011 was the third slowest start of a year. Only slower years: 1995, amid the previous real estate slump; and 2008 and 2009, during the recent property collapse.
• The first 5 months of 2011 was 31% below the average 5-month start for a year in home sales since 1988. (That’s 5,129 sales below historical trend.) And 1988-2011 average –16,725 — was last beat in 2006!

May home sales in Orange County by the slice:

• Resale houses – 1,702 sold last month vs. 2,015 a year ago. That is a minus-15.5% change. Median selling price? $500,000 vs. $515,000 a year ago or a 2.9% drop.
• Resale condos – 764 sold last month vs. 942 a year ago — a -19% drop. Median selling price? $265,000 vs. $305,000 a year ago or a 13.1% decline.
• New homes – 198 sold last month vs. 300 a year ago — a 34% plunge. Median selling price? $560,500 vs. $645,000 a year ago or a 13.1% decline.

Americans have less equity in homes

Derek Kravitz and Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Business Writers, On Thursday June 9, 2011,

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Falling real estate prices are eating away at home equity. The percentage of their homes that Americans own is near its lowest point since World War II, the Federal Reserve said Thursday. The average homeowner now has 38 percent equity, down from 61 percent a decade ago.
 The latest bleak snapshot of the housing market came as mortgage rates hit a new a low for the year, falling below 4.5 percent for a 30-year fixed loan. But even alluring rates have failed to deliver any lift to the depressed housing industry.
Normally, home equity rises as you pay off the mortgage. But home values have fallen dramatically since the bubble in prices burst in 2006. So many homeowners are losing equity even though the outstanding balance on the loan is getting smaller.