Foreclosures Rise By 158% In April

Foreclosures in Leon County are growing at an alarming rate, and all this talk about a real estate recovery is soon going to be drowned out by a market saturated with distressed properties.

New lis pendens filings in April grew by a scary 112% over April 2011, and foreclosures in Leon County grew by an even scarier amount of 158% versus April 2011.

This is not what a "getting better" real estate market looks like.

Foreclosures In Leon County Rise 6 Months In A Row

When we look at the real estate graph below, we see that lis pendens (new foreclosure filings) have grown seven months in a row, while the trend of foreclosure sales have now grown six months in a row. Additionally, the margin of foreclosures in Leon County to lis pendens filings has remained well above 40%.

Foreclosures In Leon County Becoming Top Solution

If you study the blue line in real estate graph above, it shows the aforementioned ratio of foreclosures in Leon County to lis pendens filings. If you look to the far left, you can see the rate once averaged about 12%, but now it has soared as high as sixty percent ... so what does this mean.

Historically, if somebody fell behind in their mortgage payments, they were motivated to resolve the problem, as it was likely they had equity in the home. But nowadays, that is not so common. More and more delinquent loans are making it to foreclosure sale.

Homeowners are finding fewer reasons to pursue recovery mechanisms because they have negative equity in the home. Banks are now taking on inventory at a rate that is almost as bad as we observed in 2009, and all current trends strongly indicate we will return to those levels (and maybe worse).

What Foreclosures In Leon County Mean To Arms Length Home Sellers

If you are thinking about selling a home in Leon County, you need to take decisive action.

There are enough foreclosures hitting the market now to keep home values falling for years. Either choose to "wait it out," or get your home sold fast.

Don't believe that you can wait until next year to sell your home, it will take much longer than a year to return to today's values.

If you would like help exploring all of your opportunities, just drop me a note and we can schedule a time to discuss your personal situation. But don't think that time is on your side, because the new foreclosures in Leon County are coming on fast.