By now we all know that 2009 was a terrible year as it pertained to foreclosures. As it turns out, it was the worst year on record. Per RealtyTrac, nearly 3 million homes were foreclosed upon in 2009, which equates to one in every 45 homes nationwide. That figure ends up being 21% higher than it was in 2008 and a little more than double the figure from 2007.
The scary thing is that it could have been much worse. For a short time last year there was a suspension of foreclosures. Even with the jump in foreclosures, it seems only 1.1% of the homes were actually repossessed. That’s because there were so many homes that were foreclosed upon that the banks couldn’t keep up with it, and many people got to stay in their homes as long as a year before banks got around to actually taking those homes from them.
There was one other figure that most of the country will think of as a good thing, that being that more than 50% of the homes were foreclosed upon actually occurred in only four states: Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and California. Those states also had the most bank closures in 2009, along with Georgia, which seems to make sense as most of the banks that closed had problems with their mortgage loans.
Are there signs that things are starting to turnaround? Yes and no. In the last few months of the year, there were fewer foreclosures than there had been earlier in the year. Though that sounds good, some of that is because there aren’t as many homes out there left to be foreclosed upon without something drastically bad happening. Foreclosures in some states actually went down, such as Indiana, whose foreclosures fell 9.9%, and Ohio, whose foreclosures fell 10.5%. The hope is that unemployment will improve somewhat and eliminate that fear. Also, new home starts seem to be ready to open up again, and there seems to be some interest in people wanting to buy up some of those repossessed properties.
So, 2009 ends with the housing market record of negativity. That only means that things will have to get better in 2010.
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The foreclosures is on the way down, the banks with problem has closed down or gone bankrupt and slowly is the unemployment figures on the right way. If the Government create some extra house buyer credit or similarly for the four states Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and California, then it going quicker to get back to the normal.
“So, 2009 ends with the housing market record of negativity. That only means that things will have to get better in 2010.”
Great way to look at it. I try to help all my coaching clients think like this (and to help their clients think like this), but it’s certainly difficult to find the upside in this mess on occasion.
This has definitely been a depressing development, and I think even beyond the obvious, what gets loss is how personal the dream of having their own home is for many people, and for those who were in the house for 20 years or 25 years but are now laid off – all that money and time and memories invested just gone. Really is sad, and hopefully a new year will start to turn things around.
Master Dayton@Beginning Freelance Writer´s last blog ..50 Things Beginning Writers Should Know
Definitely the only way is up! That’s the way to look at it. I’m not hopeful that things will be completely back to normal this year but you never know!
Jim@Garage Doors Prices´s last blog ..Garage Door Safety
We’ve been seeing signs locally that things are starting to turn around. Lots and lots of buyer activity and while there are still more than normal foreclosures coming on the market, the pace has slowed.
Matt@Atlanta Metro Homes´s last blog ..Details on New Tax Credit Extension
Things here in Las Vegas are slowly turning around. Our unemployment has stopped going up and more companies are hiring, so that will help stop foreclosures from continuing. The city has a few programs in place as well, but really they are just a drop in the bucket. I think it will take the rest of the country to recover before we will.
Chas@Las Vegas Real Estate´s last blog ..Real Estate Update