The New "F-word"

As a consumer you need to do yourself a favor and STOP listening to the media! There isn't anything that will depress you faster than reading the paper or listening to the news. The word Foreclosure has been tossed around a little too much lately. It is a recurring theme that the media never reports positive information, it only knows how to hunt for the negative information. Here are some of August's numbers based on figures from Realtytrac, Inc.

There are pockets of truly "bad" and there are a few states that are bringing the national Foreclosure numbers up. CA and FL alone account for 39% of all foreclosures nationally. CA alone is currently responsible for 71% of the Notice of Defaults and 36% of the REO's Nationally. NV is currently ranked # 1 in Foreclosures (not a great place to be ranked #1) and in August of 2008 Foreclosure proceedings were started on 1 out of every 91 homes in NV, that is HUGE, but it does NOT represent the entire country.

The National number in August was 1 home in 416 had foreclosure proceedings started.  That does not mean the Sheriff knocking on the door and boarding up the house: That means 1 in 416 homes nationally got a letter that said, "YOU ARE LATE, Pay up OR ELSE!" I don't know what the 'cure rate' is on a foreclosure proceeding, but I would imagine that a fair percentage of people find a way to catch up, or sell the home prior to an actual foreclosure after receiving one of these letters.  In August 1/416 is the number for foreclosure proceedings nationally, or 0.0024, or .24%. 

Since I am a Die Hard NJ Guy, here are NJ's numbers: For the State of NJ;

• 1 in 536 homes had foreclosure proceedings started. That is not every county, it is the average. 
• Monmouth and Ocean counties together the number is only about 1/800 = 0.00125 or .125% (that is one eighth of one percent, a pretty small number when you chop it down, isn't it?)

So while the media is screaming about the huge numbers in parts of the country, keep in mind that they may not be that bad close to home. Do a little research on your own, you may be surprised at how good your area is:

• Some states have numbers as good as 1/20,000! 
• 21 states actually saw Foreclosures DROP in August of 2008 Vs July of 2008.

As I have always said: READ BEYOND the headlines. Form your own opinions. Do not allow a negative media to rain on your parade when the true figures may not be anywhere near as dismal as the headline leads you to believe.

Have a Great Week!

Rob

Robert Rauf