Foreclosure Filings Down In Charlotte, NC. FOR 2011

Everyday it seems somewhere in the news the stories are out there about how bad the housing market is and that foreclosures are toppling the market. Being in the business everyday someone is asking me if the market is getting better or worse....

One indication of home prices seems to be the amount of homes that are in the foreclosure process. This means homes that the banks have begun the foreclosure process on. not all of these people will foreclosure on their homes. Some will work out a modification of their existing loan, others will short sale their homes and unfortunately some will lose their homes to foreclosure.

But, nationally as well as in Charlotte north Carolina the trend of foreclosure filings is down. Nationally year to year it is down 23%. In Charlotte the amount of filings are down 34% from last year. What does all that mean?

Well less people are falling behind on their mortgage payments this year than last year for one. A good sign that the economy and the housing market can start to climb. The fact remains is that we will have foreclosures. it is an inevitable part of our business....Trying t minimize the amount can go a long way to stabilizing the housing market and the economy as a whole.

despite all the gloom of foreclosures out there North Carolina ranks 34th in terms of foreclosed homes. The press has done a great job of making this sound worse than it really is.... With the economy in question and a presidential election around the corner painting a gloomy forecast does well for ratings. But the reality is that the less foreclosures out there means that the "great deals" out there are going to be harder to come by....

I have written in earlier blogs that inventory levels are at record low levels, couple that with fewer foreclosure filings, and historic low interest rates and you have a great mix for buyers to get a low payment on a house and for sellers to sell their homes right now.....

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com