In Thursday's Charlotte Business Journal, they featured a report showing that foreclosures in North Carolina were down 27% statewide for September. This was counter to the numbers released by RealtyTrac, showing a nationwide increase of 21%. However, even Realty Trac shows North Carolina as a state facing fewer foreclosures in September. So, is this the beginning of the end?
I think its still too soon to say that we're nearing the end of our own local foreclosure crisis but any decline is a positive sign. According to the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks, so far for 2008, there have been 6509 foreclosure starts for Mecklenburg county (the home of Charlotte). While that is a year to date increase of 12%, its important to note that not every foreclosure starts ends at the courthouse. Some homes are sold before the sale auction, others are rescued by the owner, and then there are the loan modifications.
While Mecklenburg has had its number of foreclosures rise YTD, other counties have had a drop over the same period last year. Beauford, Lenoir, Edgecombe, Nash, Greene, and Vance were among the counties with fewer starts this year over last year. So what does this mean for you?
For homeowners, it appears that we may be working towards the end of this foreclosure mess. Should the number of foreclosures continue to decline, it will be only a matter of time for home prices to move back on the increase. Mecklenburg county has traditionally enjoyed a 3-5% appreciation rate over the last decade, interrupted this year by the "mortgage crisis." As a result, some areas have had their gains reduced back to 2006 levels. Without the added pressure of foreclosed listings driving down prices, prices can begin to stabilize.
For bargain hunter home buyers, your window for deals may be closing. If October, November, and December all show declines, the opportunity for as many bank owned listings will be lessened in January, Febuary, and March. As a result, the deals will be harder to come by
Jonathan Osman
Charlotte NC Homes
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