ACTIVE REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURES FOR SALE IN BIRMINGHAM AL - 12/19/2011

ACTIVE REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURES FOR SALE IN BIRMINGHAM AL

Foreclosure filings may have fallen in November but the number of homes scheduled for bank auctions grew significantly, indicating that a new wave of foreclosures are set to take place in the New Year. The number of foreclosure filings dropped to 224,394 properties in November, a 3% decline from October and a 14% drop year-over-year, according to RealtyTrac.

ACTIVE REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURES FOR SALE IN BIRMINGHAM AL

During the month, one in every 579 housing units received either a default notice or underwent a scheduled auction or bank repossession, the online marketer of foreclosed homes said. The number of completed foreclosures, the last stage of the process when banks repossess the homes of delinquent borrowers, fell to 56,124 homes, a 17% plunge from a month earlier and the fewest since March 2008. Such repossessions are off 45% from their September 2010 peak, when more than 102,000 homes were lost to foreclosure.

ACTIVE REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURES FOR SALE IN BIRMINGHAM AL

Foreclosure filings have been artificially depressed for more than a year now as banks slowed the processing of paperwork in the wake of the robo-signing scandal. "The banks had taken some of the homes out of the foreclosure pipeline while they cleaned up their books," said Pat Newport, a housing market analyst for IHS Global Insight.

ACTIVE REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURES FOR SALE IN BIRMINGHAM AL

The paperwork issues have been mostly resolved and that could mean bank repossessions will come roaring back in 2012, said James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac. "Despite a seasonal slowdown similar to what we've seen in each of the past four years, November's numbers suggest a new set of incoming foreclosure waves, many of which may roll into the market as REO's or short sales sometimes early next year," he said.

ACTIVE REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURES FOR SALE IN BIRMINGHAM AL