Signs of a Real Estate Recovery? <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
The number
of home owners who were put on notice for defaulting on their mortgage payments
dropped last month to the lowest level since 2006, RealtyTrac reports.
Meanwhile,
foreclosure filings for the eighth straight month also were down as filings
fell 33 percent in May compared to a year earlier and 2 percent
month-over-month. Also, lenders took back fewer homes in May, the second
straight month of declines. And bank repossessions were down in May too — down
nearly 30 percent over the last 12 months.
Is this a
sign of a recovery in real estate, which has been bogged down by a high number
of foreclosures over the last several years?
Experts are
still cautious. Lingering delays in banks’ foreclosure process may be the
culprit for the declining numbers, they say, and not an overall improving
picture of the number of home owners facing foreclosure.
"Foreclosure
processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure
situation," says James Saccacio, the CEO of RealtyTrac. "Lenders are
somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they
overhaul their paperwork and documentation procedures."
Overall,
banks hold 2 million homes in some stage of foreclosure. Banks are on track to
repossess about 200,000 fewer homes this year than in 2010; the projection is
800,000 this year compared to 1 million last year.
Where
Foreclosures Are Highest
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Nevada continues to lead with
the highest rate of foreclosures — one in every 103 households received a foreclosure
notice there in May.
Here are
the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rate in May:
1. Nevada
2. Arizona
3. California
4. Michigan
5. Utah
6. Georgia
7. Idaho
8. Florida
9. Illinois
10.
Colorado
Source: “Bank Processing
Delays Led to Drop in Homes Entering Foreclosure Process, Repossessed in May,” Associated Press (June
16, 2011) and “Foreclosures
Fall for 8th Straight Month,” CNNMoney (June 16, 2011)
Its about time...Yeah!!
www.MarleneDietrichNewportCoastREaltor.com
Marlene Dietrich, Tony & Mike
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