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847 696-7580
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1410 W. Higgins Rd, Suite 101
Park Ridge, IL 60068
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Chicago, Elk Grove Village, Glenview, Skokie, Bensenville, Maywood, Schaumburg, Berwyn, Lincolnwood, Des Plaines, Morton Grove, Park Ridge, Harwood Heights, Niles, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Bellwood, Franklin Park, Melrose Park, Elmwood Park, Cicero, Crystal Lake, Highland Park, Lake Villa, Round Lake, Wauconda, Bartlett, Elgin, Carol Stream, West Chicago, Joliet, Bolingbrook, Aurora, Hinsdale, Naperville, Barrington, Lincolnshire, Itasca, Lake in The Hills, Roselle, Joliet, Deerfield, Elmhurst, Wood Ridge, Oak Brook, Darien, Plainfield
and by ZIP Codes :
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ChicagoLand Short Sale & Foreclosure News !
Gerard Scheffler- Default and Distressed Property Sales ExpertHoliday Season Home Gallery, Inc
24 December 2012, 1:14 pm
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Foreclosure Market Trends Report - November 2012
2 November 2012, 3:34 pm
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Foreclosure slowdown pushing home prices higher
19 October 2012, 12:58 am
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Joe Klamar / AFP - Getty Images
The Goldrush estates are seen in Las Vegas, which has long had the dubious distinction of being America's foreclosure capital. As foreclosures decline, home prices are slowly rising in many markets.
Home buyers looking for bargains on foreclosed houses are having a harder time finding them.
When the housing market crashed in 2007, a wave of foreclosures accelerated the plunge in prices, which lopped roughly a third off the median price of a home.
Now with the pace of new foreclosures slowing, mortgage rates falling and home sales perking up, those once-in-a-lifetime bargains are fading from the market.
“Deeply discounted existing homes have been subject to strong demand from cash buyers and investors looking to lock into housing’s attractive income returns,” said Paul Diggle, a housing economist at Capital Economics, in a recent research note. “The supply of such homes, meanwhile, has been dwindling. That has bid up existing house prices, particularly at the lower end of the price spectrum."
Nationwide, the median price of a new home was up by 17 percent in August compared to a year ago. For existing homes, the median price was 9.5 percent higher.
During the depths of the housing bust, markets under the greatest price pressure had the highest concentrations of “distressed” sales. Those include bank-owned homes seized in foreclosures and “short sales,” in which lenders allow underwater homeowners to sell their home for less than the outstanding mortgage balance.
These distressed properties sold at deep discounts to the “normal” market. But as the backlog of foreclosures has eased, those discounts are drying up.
The foreclosure slowdown continued last month, according to the latest data from research firm RealtyTrac, which showed new filings hit a five-year low.
Foreclosure starts fell in 31 states, with the biggest drops in California, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and Texas. Those are among the so-called non-judicial states, in which court approval isn't required for foreclosures. In some states where court approval is required, concerns about sloppy paperwork processing by lenders has prompted tougher reviews of home seizures.
Fewer new foreclosures means fewer unsold homes on the market. As the pace of sales has picked up and the volume of unsold inventory has fallen, so has the backlog of houses for sale. The supply of listings has fallen from an average 9.4-month supply in 2010 to 6.1 months in August, the latest data available from the National Association of Realtors.
“There is a shortage of inventory -- as crazy as it sounds to say that,” said Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac spokesman. “In a lot of market there's less inventory of foreclosed properties than there is demand. You’re hearing about multiple bids for these properties.”
At the same time, demand for foreclosed homes has risen during the housing bust, in part because the stigma once associated with bank-owned properties has faded somewhat.
“Many real estate agent who would have never wanted to deal with a foreclosure in the past decided to get on the bandwagon,” said Blomquist. “Some now specialize in those properties.”
To be sure, foreclosed properties in some markets still being sold at deep discounts. Though the volume of foreclosures has slowed nationwide, the pace is still strong in Florida, where one in every 117 households in some stage of foreclosure last month, according to RealtyTrac. Arizona, California, Illinois and Georgia also were among the top five states with the highest foreclosure rates in September.
With demand up and supply falling, prices have perked up. After falling by roughly a third after the 2006 peak, home prices have begun inching higher this year. After several false starts, the housing market began finding a footing earlier this year, and most analysts are convinced the worst is over in most parts of the country.
The latest evidence came this week with the Federal Reserve’s “Beige Book” report on regional economic conditions, which showed the housing recovery picking up steam in some districts.
After the bubble burst, bargain-priced homes were available on both new and existing houses. One measure of the “foreclosure discount” is the difference between the median price of existing and newly-built homes.
Since 1966, existing homes have sold, on average, for about 13 percent less than new homes, according to Diggle’s research. During the housing bust, the discount widened to as much as one-third less than the price of a new home. The discount has been falling this year.
Source : By John W. Schoen, NBC News
Full Article
Foreclosure Activity Drops to 5-Year Low in September
19 October 2012, 12:53 am
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Monthly Activity at Lowest Level Since July 2007 Led by Drops in CA, MI, GA, TX, AZ
Lowest Quarterly Total Since Q4 2007, But Activity Increasing in FL, IL, OH, NY, NJ
IRVINE, Calif. – Oct. 11, 2012 — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for September and the third quarter of 2012, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 180,427 U.S. properties in September, a decrease of 7 percent from the previous month and down 16 percent from September 2011. September’s total was the lowest U.S. total since July 2007.
The decrease in September helped drop the third quarter foreclosure numbers to the lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2007. Foreclosure filings were reported on 531,576 U.S. properties during the quarter, a decrease of 5 percent from the second quarter and a decrease of 13 percent from the third quarter of 2011 — the ninth consecutive quarter with an annual decrease in foreclosure activity. The report also shows one in every 248 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the quarter.
“We’ve been waiting for the other foreclosure shoe to drop since late 2010, when questionable foreclosure practices slowed activity to a crawl in many areas, but that other shoe is instead being carefully lowered to the floor and therefore making little noise in the housing market — at least at a national level,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “Make no mistake, however, the other shoe is dropping quite loudly in certain states, primarily those where foreclosure activity was held back the most last year.
“Meanwhile, several states where the foreclosure flow was not so dammed up last year could see a roller-coaster pattern in foreclosure activity going forward because of recent legislation or court rulings that substantively change the rules to properly foreclose,” Blomquist added. “A backlog of delayed foreclosures will likely build up in those states as lenders adjust to the new rules, with many of those delayed foreclosures eventually hitting down the road.”
Other high-level findings from the report
- The national decrease in September and the third quarter was driven mostly by sizable decreases in the non-judicial foreclosure states such as California, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and Michigan.
- Several judicial foreclosure states — including Florida, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey and New York — continued to buck the national trend, registering substantial year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in September and the third quarter.
- U.S. foreclosure starts in the third quarter decreased both from the previous quarter and a year ago, reversing a bump in foreclosure starts in the second quarter.
- California foreclosure starts (NOD) in September decreased 18 percent from the previous month and were down 45 percent from a year ago to a 69-month low, although the state’s foreclosure rate still ranked in the top three for the month and quarter.
- Florida foreclosure starts (LIS) in September increased 24 percent on a year-over-year basis, the 11th consecutive month with an annual increase, and the state’s foreclosure rate ranked highest nationwide for the first time since April 2005.
Non-judicial states push national numbers lower
Of the 24 states where the non-judicial foreclosure process is primarily utilized, 20 reported annual decreases in foreclosure activity in the third quarter, including Nevada (71 percent decrease), Oregon (63 percent decrease), Utah (60 percent decrease), Virginia (34 percent decrease), California (29 percent decrease), Michigan (28 percent decrease), Arizona (23 percent decrease), Colorado (21 percent decrease), Georgia (20 percent decrease) and Texas (17 percent decrease).
Nevada, Oregon and California have all enacted legislation within the past year adding more requirements for lenders to properly foreclose, while a Georgia Court of Appeals ruling in July of this year requires lenders to provide certain information on foreclosure notices that some lenders may not have been including previously.
Washington state was one of only four non-judicial foreclosure states where foreclosure activity increased in the third quarter, up 70 percent from the previous quarter and up 15 percent from the third quarter of 2011. Washington state was one of the first non-judicial states to enact legislation impacting the foreclosure process following the so-called robo-signing controversy that came to light in October 2010. The state legislature passed a law that took effect in July 2011, requiring lenders to offer mediation to homeowners facing foreclosure.
Judicial states buck national trend
Meanwhile, third quarter foreclosure activity increased on a year-over-year basis in 14 out of the 26 states with a primarily judicial foreclosure process, including New Jersey (130 percent increase), New York (53 percent increase), Indiana (36 percent increase), Pennsylvania (35 percent increase), Connecticut (34 percent increase), Illinois (31 percent increase), Maryland (28 percent increase), South Carolina (16 percent increase), North Carolina (14 percent increase), and Florida (14 percent increase).
Some notable exceptions where foreclosure activity in the third quarter decreased on annual basis in judicial foreclosure states included Massachusetts (16 percent decrease) and Wisconsin (12 percent decrease).
Foreclosure starts reverse upward trend
First-time foreclosure starts, either default notices or scheduled foreclosure auctions depending on the state’s foreclosure process, were filed on 284,720 U.S. properties during the third quarter, an 8 percent decrease from the second quarter and also an 8 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2011.
Nationwide foreclosure starts decreased on an annual basis for the second straight month in September following three straight months of annual increases. Foreclosures were started on 87,066 U.S. properties during the month, down 12 percent from August and down 15 percent from September 2011.
September foreclosure starts decreased on an annual basis in 31 states, including California (45 percent decrease), Arizona (34 percent decrease), Michigan (22 percent decrease), Georgia (21 percent decrease) and Texas (19 percent decrease).
States with the biggest annual increases in foreclosure starts in September included New Jersey (424 percent increase), Pennsylvania (134 percent increase), New York (95 percent increase), Washington (60 percent increase) and Florida (24 percent increase).
Florida, Arizona, California post top state foreclosure rates in third quarter
Florida foreclosure activity in the third quarter increased 14 percent from a year ago, the third consecutive quarter with an annual increase and boosting the state’s foreclosure rate to highest in the nation. One in every 117 Florida housing units had a foreclosure filing in the third quarter, more than twice the national average.
Florida’s foreclosure rate also ranked highest in the nation in September, the first time since April 2005 that Florida has held the No. 1 spot. Florida foreclosure starts in September increased 24 percent from a year ago — the 11th straight month with an annual increase — and Florida bank repossessions (REO) increased 23 percent year over year — the ninth straight month with an annual increase.
Arizona REOs in September increased 2 percent from a year ago, the first year-over-year increase in Arizona REOs since November 2011, but the state’s overall foreclosure activity was down on an annual basis both in September and the third quarter thanks to big drops in foreclosure starts. Despite those decreases, one in every 125 Arizona housing units had a foreclosure filing during the third quarter — the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate.
California also posted a foreclosure rate of one in every 125 housing units with a foreclosure filing in the third quarter, but the state’s foreclosure rate was slightly lower than that of Arizona, ranking No. 3 among all states for the quarter. A total of 109,369 California properties had foreclosure filings during the quarter, the highest of any state but still down from the previous quarter and a year ago.
California foreclosure auctions and REOs in the third quarter both increased from the previous quarter, but foreclosure starts (NODs) dropped 19 percent from the previous quarter. California foreclosure starts in September dropped to their lowest level since December 2006 — a 69-month low.
Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in the third quarter were Illinois (one in 126 housing units with a foreclosure filing), Georgia (one in 151), Nevada (one in 158), Ohio (one in 197), Michigan (one in 201), South Carolina (one in 215), and Colorado (one in 216).
Days to foreclose at record 382 days, legislation extends process in some states
U.S. properties foreclosed in the third quarter took an average of 382 days to complete the foreclosure process, up from 378 days in the previous quarter and up from 336 days in the third quarter of 2011. It was the highest average number of days to foreclose going back to the first quarter of 2007.
The average time to complete a foreclosure increased substantially from a year ago in several states where recent legislation and court rulings have extended the foreclosure process. These states included Oregon (up 62 percent to 193 days), Hawaii (up 62 percent to 662 days), Washington (up 62 percent to 248 days) and Nevada (up 42 percent to 520 days).
The average time to foreclose decreased from a year ago in 15 states, including Arkansas (down 49 percent to 199 days), Michigan (down 15 percent to 226 days), Maryland (down 9 percent to 541 days), California (down 8 percent to 335 days), and New Jersey (down 4 percent to 931 days).
New Jersey documented the second longest state foreclosure timeline in the third quarter behind New York, where the average time to complete a foreclosure was 1,072 days for properties foreclosed during the quarter. Florida registered the third highest state foreclosure timeline, 858 days — down slightly from 861 days in the previous quarter — and Illinois registered the fourth highest state foreclosure timeline, 673 days.
Report Methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month and quarter — broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during a month or quarter may have been recorded in previous months or quarters. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). For the quarterly report, if more than one foreclosure document is received for a property during the quarter, only the most recent filing is counted in the report. Both the quarterly and monthly reports check if the same type of document was filed against a property previously. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located, the report
Source : RealtyTrac
Full ArticleIMPORTANT NOTICE from Cook County Assessor's Office 10/09/12
9 October 2012, 10:47 pm
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The Assessor’s Office has been informed that taxpayers are being solicited by people claiming to work at the Cook County Assessor’s Office. These solicitors have been notifying taxpayers that they have missing exemptions and are encouraging taxpayers to hire them to file Certificates of Error on their behalf. The Assessor wants taxpayers to be aware that they do not need representation to file for a Certificate of Error. Certificate of Error exemption forms may be downloaded from this Web site. Taxpayers may also call our office and request that a Certificate of Error exemption form be mailed to them.
More info on http://www.cookcountyassessor.com/
Full Article
Foreclosure Market Trends Report - October 2012
9 October 2012, 10:37 am
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Bank Of America Reaching Out to Select Borrowers for 2nd Lien Forgiveness
4 October 2012, 10:58 am
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As part of Bank of America’s deal in the national mortgage settlement, the bank announced Friday it plans on offering full forgiveness for second liens to certain homeowners.
The bank is in the process of mailing about 150,000 letters to pre-qualified homeowners with offers to wipe out their second liens.
The vast majority of customers who are eligible for the program are behind on their second mortgage, but some borrowers who are current on their second lien can qualify if they are associated with a first lien that is severely delinquent and meets the program criteria.
The intention of the program is to reduce monthly debt obligations for homeowners and help borrowers stay in their home.
Eligible customers must also have a second lien owned and serviced by BofA, and they must also meet certain threshold delinquency or property value criteria.
BofA sent letters through Federal Express or certified mail, and only those who receive the letter are eligible.
Customers can decline the offer within 30 days of receiving the letter.
BofA also reminded customers that forgiven mortgage debt is taxable. While the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007, which is set to expire at the end of this year, does allow for forgiven debt related to a foreclosure to be exempt as taxable income, BofA urged customers to seek advice from a tax professional.
Source DSNews By : Esther Cho
CoreLogic: Home Prices Sustain Recovery with 4.6% Yearly Gain
4 October 2012, 10:55 am
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Home prices continued to trend upwards in August, posting both yearly and monthly gains for the sixth consecutive month, CoreLogic reported Tuesday.
When including distressed sales, home prices in August rose 4.6 percent from a year ago, marking the biggest yearly gain since July 2006. Month-over-month, prices were up 0.3 percent from July to August.
When excluding distressed sales, which are short sales and REO transactions, prices were up yearly and monthly by 4.9 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
CoreLogic’s Pending HPI points to further increases into September. Prices including distressed sales are expected to rise by 5 percent yearly and 0.3 percent monthly.
“Sustained economic recovery in the U.S. requires a healthy housing market. You cannot have a healthy housing market without price stabilization and ultimately home price appreciation,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, in a release. “Improving pricing trends over the past few months and our forecast for continued gains in September bode well for a progressive rebound in the residential housing market.”
On a state-by-state basis, all but six states saw price gains.
Including distressed sales, the five states that appreciated the most over a one-year period were Arizona (+18.2 percent), Idaho (+10.4 percent), Nevada (+9.0 percent), Utah (+8.9 percent) and Hawaii (+8 percent).
Rhode Island led with the biggest decline, where prices fell 2.6 percent, followed by Illinois (-2.3 percent), New Jersey (-1.4 percent), Alabama (-0.7 percent) and Connecticut (-0.5 percent).
Phoenix continued to outshine other metros, rising 21.8 percent from August 2011. Houston ranked second, but was still far behind, gaining 6.3 percent during the same period. Washington D.C. (+4.8 percent), Dallas (+4.3 percent), and Los Angeles (4 percent) were also among the top five.
Souce DsNews By : Esther Cho
Full ArticleForeclosures Decline but Remain High, Prepayments Surge: LPS
4 October 2012, 10:53 am
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Foreclosure inventory continues to decline but remains more than eight times what it was in the decade prior to the housing crisis, according to the latest report from Lender Processing Services (LPS).
Noncurrent loans make up 10.9 percent of all loans as of August, demonstrating a year-over-year change of -7.6 percent, according to LPS.
As of August, the delinquency rate stands at 6.9 percent, and the foreclosure rate is 4.0 percent.
There remains a large gap in the foreclosure rate between judicial states and non-judicial states. In fact, in judicial states the rate remains near an all-time high of 6.49 percent, while the foreclosure rate in non-judicial states is 2.28 percent.
The amount of loans 90 or more days delinquent is near half of its January 2010 peak. The majority of these loans are more than nine months delinquent. About 43 percent are at least 12 months delinquent.
The overall delinquency rate declined 2.3 percent in August.
States ranking highest for non-current loans include Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada, and New York.
States with the lowest percentages of non-current loans include Montana, Alaska, South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota.
LPS noted prepayment activity was up “significantly” in August, nearing levels last reported in 2005.
The annualized prepayment rate at the end of August was almost 25 percent, according to LPS’ findings.
Prepayment was highest among loans with higher combined loan-to-value ratios (CLTVs). For example, among loans with more than 120 percent CLTV, prepayment increased more than 65 percent year to date.
According to LPS, this trend is significant because prepayments are an indicator of refinance activity.
In August, 2011 vintage loans experienced a 23 percent increase in prepayments over the month.
Loans with vintages from 2007 and earlier experienced a prepayment increase of just 9 percent, which LPS interprets as signs of a “refi burn out.”
“[I]t is also becoming evident that loans originated in 2007 and earlier have diminished prospects for conventional refinancing opportunities,” stated Herb Blecher, SVP of applied analytics at LPS.
“Fewer than 30 percent of these vintages remain both active and current, and on average, they are marked by larger negative equity positions and lower credit scores,” Blecher explained.
Source DsNews by : Krista Franks Brock
Untitled
25 September 2012, 3:46 pm
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Rents Rising Rapidly
16 September 2012, 12:45 am
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FHA temporarily eases guidance on condo approvals
16 September 2012, 12:39 am
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The Federal Housing Administration eased some requirements for financing the purchase of condominium units through August 2014, according to a letter sent to lenders Thursday.
The new guidance is effective for all project approvals or reconsiderations submitted for review going forward.
To protect the dwindling emergency insurance fund, the FHA put stricter rules in place.
According to the changes made Thursday, no more than 15% of the total units can be delinquent by 60 days or more on their condo association fees. This was eased from a 30-day delinquency threshold. No exceptions to the new rule will be granted, the FHA said.
The agency still requires at least half of the units to be owner-occupied for projects completed more than one year ago. But the FHA released more specific guidance on how much investors can own on properties under construction or conversion. Investors can own up to 30% of the units on some of the projects in order to qualify for FHA financing.
Other guidance was given on insurance coverage, commercial space limitations and other details.
The Community Associations Institute, a trade group of community associations, pushed the FHA to revise the rules.
"It was determined that certain policy adjustments were needed to address current housing market conditions," the FHA said in the letter.
CAI Chief Executive Officer Thomas Skiba said the revisions were needed sooner but is still "excellen
The Federal Housing Administration eased some requirements for financing the purchase of condominium units through August 2014, according to a letter sent to lenders Thursday.
The new guidance is effective for all project approvals or reconsiderations submitted for review going forward.
To protect the dwindling emergency insurance fund, the FHA put stricter rules in place.
According to the changes made Thursday, no more than 15% of the total units can be delinquent by 60 days or more on their condo association fees. This was eased from a 30-day delinquency threshold. No exceptions to the new rule will be granted, the FHA said.
The agency still requires at least half of the units to be owner-occupied for projects completed more than one year ago. But the FHA released more specific guidance on how much investors can own on properties under construction or conversion. Investors can own up to 30% of the units on some of the projects in order to qualify for FHA financing.
Other guidance was given on insurance coverage, commercial space limitations and other details.
The Community Associations Institute, a trade group of community associations, pushed the FHA to revise the rules.
"It was determined that certain policy adjustments were needed to address current housing market conditions," the FHA said in the letter.
CAI Chief Executive Officer Thomas Skiba said the revisions were needed sooner but is still "excellent news."
"FHA has responded to the critical issues we've raised. By doing so, more Americans can obtain FHA-insured mortgages to purchase condominiums," Skiba said. "This will spark home sales and help tens of thousands of condominium communities begin to recover from the housing slump, and that can only help the national economy."
By Jon Prior Source: HousingWire
Chicago area home sales rise nearly 27% in August
16 September 2012, 12:35 am
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Chicago area home sales rise nearly 27% in August
Home sales in the Chicago area sped up last month with 9,145 units sold, up nearly 27% from year ago levels, RE/MAX said Wednesday.
For the second month in a row, foreclosures and short-sales represented a larger share of all Chicago homes sales. Distressed sales in August accounted for 37.5% of all transactions, up from 36.4% a year ago and 36.1% in July, RE/MAX said.
The pace of sales in Chicago's seven-county region ticked up with properties spending only 139 days on the market, compared to 165 days in August of 2011. This is the fastest sales pace since December 2007.
"It indicates that the market is being brought back into balance,” said Laura Ortoleva, a spokesperson for the RE/MAX Northern Illinois real estate network.
Homes sold in the metro-Chicago area in August had a median price of $170,000, down 4.4% from a year earlier.
Posted by kpanchuk on 9/14/12 at 3:38pm Source: housingwire.com
ForeclosureRadar: Foreclosure Starts Down Dramatically in August
16 September 2012, 12:33 am
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ForeclosureRadar released its Foreclosure Report for August on Monday, revealing that foreclosure starts fell dramatically during the month.
The company’s coverage area includes counties in California, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon. In all states except Washington, foreclosure starts either fell drastically or stayed fairly flat month-over-month, with Oregon seeing an 80.6 percent drop in starts. In Washington, starts were up 34.9 percent.
ForeclosureRadar said the monthly decline in starts is even more significant when taken with the fact that August had more business days (23 days) than July (21 days).
While foreclosure sales increased 23.7 percent month-over-month in California, the increased number of business days helped flatten the daily average increase to 2.2 percent over July.
Sales in most other states either dropped or increased marginally, with Nevada posting the largest decrease (18.1 percent). Washington led in sales, reporting a 36.5 percent increase.
Time to foreclose changed little in all states, with Nevada showing the largest increase (up 8.9 percent increase to 512 days) and Arizona posting the only decrease (down 3.7 percent to 131 days). While Washington reported huge leaps in foreclosure starts and sales, the state remained completely flat in time to foreclose at 102 days.
ForeclosureRadar CEO Sean O’Toole said the drop in starts should put to rest any reports about another wave of foreclosure sales in the near future.
“We continue to see reports that there will be a wave of foreclosure sales after the election or at the start of the year,” O’Toole said. “The lack of foreclosure starts this month puts a nail in the coffin of this theory. There will be no wave of foreclosures for at least five months.”
“The good news for investors and first-time buyers is that foreclosure sales have at least remained flat, continuing to provide some opportunities in the meantime,” he continued.
Source DsNews by : Tory Barringer
Illinois Takes Lead for Foreclosure Rate, REOs Continue to Fall
16 September 2012, 12:31 am
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A new state took the spotlight in RealtyTrac’s Foreclosure Market Report for August.
For the first time since January 2005, which is when RealtyTrac began the report, Illinois ranked number one for its foreclosure rate. In August, one in every 298 Illinois housing units had a foreclosure filing.
The state also saw foreclosure activity hike 29 percent from July, and on a yearly basis, foreclosure starts were up 18 percent, scheduled foreclosure auctions shot up 116 percent, and bank repossessions increased by 41 percent.
Florida ranked second, where one in every 328 housing units had a foreclosure filing, followed by California, Arizona, and Nevada.
“The increases in Florida and Illinois pushed foreclosure rates in those states to the two highest in the country – supplanting the non-judicial states of Arizona, California, Georgia and Nevada. Previous to August, the nation’s top two state foreclosure rates have been from those four non-judicial states every month since December 2010,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac.
RealtyTrac also found that after three straight months of yearly increases, foreclosure starts fell in August by 13 percent after a 17-month high in August 2011.
However, 18 states saw year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts. The states with significant yearly increases were Washington (143 percent), Pennsylvania (129 percent), Alabama (102 percent), New Jersey (101 percent), and New York (63 percent).
Bank repossessed fewer properties in August, with REO activity declining 2 percent month-over-month and 19 percent year-over-year, marking the 22 month in a row of yearly declines.
Seven California metros ranked highest for their foreclosure rates. Modesto, where one in every 172 housing units received a foreclosure filing, led took the first spot. Merced was second, followed by Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton, Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, and Chico.
Source DsNews by: Esther Cho
| Weekly Mortgage Rates | |
Freddie Mac National Averages | |
| 30 Yr Fixed | 3.51% |
| 15 Yr Fixed | 2.69% |
| 5 Yr Fixed | 2.62% |
| 1 Yr Fixed | 2.55% |
Equal Housing Opportunity |