Foreclosures Still High, Despite Declines
Despite hopes and dreams that the housing market is on its way towards improvement, there are still a very high number of foreclosures that states are recording. Some of those figures are lower than they’ve been, but they’re still higher than any area’s housing market would like them to be.
If there’s any state that wishes it wasn’t at the top of a list, California is it. Foreclosures jumped 31.9% in May, which was down from the 35% rate in April, but it’s not giving anyone a warm and fuzzy feeling. Oddly enough, lenders who have assumed these homes aren’t putting many of them on the auction block, hoping there might still be a way to work with some of these homeowners to recover at least some portions of lost money. The number of foreclosures that went for auction was up 31.9% from April, but actually down 30% from last year. It may be grasping at straws, but silver linings are small indeed.
Not many people would equate Green Bay, WI as a state in distress, but it can happen anywhere in the country. In June, the foreclosure rate was up 27% from the same period last year, but was slightly down from April. Overall, the rate is up around 60% from the same period in 2007, 80% from the same period in 2006. Green Bay is trying to deal with the problem by working with a group called NeighborWorks, which tries to work with both homeowners and banks to try to refinance mortgages.
The Phoenix, AZ area, in a state where foreclosures feel like it’s been a part of their lives forever, showed a 30% foreclosure rate in May, which was lower than its high of 51% in February, and better than the 40% foreclosure rate in May of 2008. An oddity in a city like Phoenix, as compared to an area like Green Bay, is that homes in the million dollar range are also being foreclosed upon, and 20 such homes were foreclosed upon in May, 7 of those homes worth more than $2 million. What this shows is that the classes being affected by the negative economy are showing no favorites. Phoenix is one of the top 10 cities in the country for foreclosures, which helped bring Arizona to number four on the list of states and foreclosures, behind Nevada, California, and Florida.
Seeing the foreclosure figures, it begs the question as to whether the housing industry is grasping at straws or if good times are just around the corner. It would seem there’s no one answer for everyone, as some housing markets around the country are showing nice signs of recovery. One can hope that, at some point, everyone will be enjoying at least a modicum of success in real estate once again.
These high foreclosure rates are ominous, indeed. But, it's always darkest before the dawn – these trends will spur innovation all across the board … buyers, financiers, builders, sellers, agents -> the individual is brilliant on the personal level and their intuition will be what helps turn the market around.
The numbers are still high, despite a little decline. I totally agree with this situation. We can see some foreclosure listings in California full of opportunities.