Finally some good news for the California housing market. The research firm MDA DataQuick came out with numbers showing that defaults on mortgages in the state fell 24.3% in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the third quarter. They said this was a sign that banks are working with borrowers to help them pay their mortgages. Personally I think this is a major leap of faith, but the numbers are still encouraging.
I say that because the fourth quarter numbers also showed the repossession rate went up 2.1% from the third quarter, and foreclosures went up 9% from November. However, the foreclosure rate for the quarter was still down 17% from the third quarter.
Statistic which I found pretty interesting was the list of lenders that originated the most loans that went into default.
Those lenders were:
- Countrywide (no longer in existence, now owned by Bank of America), with 5,588 loans
- Wells Fargo (paid off their TARP loan and had a 4th quarter profit of $3 billion), with 3,482 loans
- Washington Mutual (no longer in existence, now owned by Chase), with 3,460
- Bank of America (paid off their TARP loan but had a 4th quarter loss of $4.2 billion), with 1,760 loans
- World Savings (no longer in existence, now owned by Wachovia), with 1,869 loans
Areas of the state where there might still be problems on the horizon are areas such as Merced, Stanislaus and Riverside couties, where high numbers of defaults took place over the past two years. San Francisco, Marin and San Mateo are considered the safest overall areas against defaults. Banks and lenders aren’t off the hook either, as the federal government has been pushing hard in getting these banks up to speed in taking care of more homeowners. Through the end of the year, only 7.8% of loan modifications were permanent, though that number has risen in the new year.
One final statistic. It takes at least 120 days for homes in California to go into foreclosure, and the percentage of loans at least 120 days old went up from 4.51% to 4.7% in the fourth quarter as well. That is a relatively low figure, but once again it points out that the state really needs help, not only in its budget, but with its unemployment rate, which is sitting at 12.4%.
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Foreclosures are bad and unemployment is bad, but imagine the amount of California homeowners that are upside down in there homes. I surprised California has fared as well as it has considering all the negatives in that market.
Matt@Atlanta Metro Homes´s last blog ..The Perfect Storm for Home-Buyers
Very good information. And it true, I have a friend in L.A. California who have just been over here, in Spain and said the same thing that the banks is working much harder and better with helping people with their mortgage.