Foreclosure in California Dropped by 32 Per Cent
This is one of the most challenging phases in the US. Foreclosures are at an all time high. The worst affected states are California, Nevada and Florida. In California, the foreclosure level has dropped by 32 per cent yet the state is the third highest in the nation’s foreclosure measure. In August the number of foreclosure filings was 92,326. This translates to one in 144 houses being foreclosed upon — the highest in any US state. According to RealtyTrac, the foreclosure rate has decreased by 15 per cent from the July figure and 9 per cent from 2008, yet it is a high.
Nevada has a very high foreclosure rate of 17,902 homes being foreclosed upon. That means one in 62 houses has received a foreclosure filing. In fact, this is the highest in August. When compared to July, the figure was down by 8 per cent but it was higher by 53 per cent from that of 2008.
Florida came second where foreclosures are concerned. One in every 140 homes in this state received a filing. In fact, six states made up for 62 per cent of the total foreclosures. It may be noted that when a house is foreclosed upon, the lender serves default notice, after which there is an auction and the bank repossesses the property.
The foreclosed properties are attractive to first time investors who are picking them up at auctions. They are deliberately leaving out home buyers by making all-cash deals. Many home owners do not have access to credit and most of them have scores which are lower than what the lenders require.
A realtor, Dondi Adkins says that short sales are more common. Most homeowners owe more on the mortgage than the value of their homes. They are selling the homes at prices which are lower than what their homes are worth. Adkins has been holding talks with one homeowner and the deal has been closed after three months.
Realtors also observe that the banks do not have the necessary wherewithal to handle the tide of short sale offers. That is responsible for the delayed response. Adkins also says that she tries to influence buyers not to go for short sales because the process takes a lot of time.
The federal government has assured a credit of $8,000 for first time home buyers. Hence developers like Adkins are trying to influence people to buy homes before November.
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