U.S. foreclosures jumped 32% in April from a year ago. This is not good news.One of every 374 households with a mortgage received a foreclosure filing in April bringing filings to 342,038 according to RealtyTrac.
What is happening is that banks and other lenders are now initiating foreclosure proceedings that previously had been on hold. There had been a temporary freeze by major banks and lenders that ended March 6. When that expired, lenders moved in quickly to start the foreclosure process. It's like a dam broke loose when the freeze ended. Realty Trac expects another three or four months of high foreclosure activity.
If we zero in on a state like Nevada, we find good news and bad news. Foreclosure filings fell 18% in April and bank repossessions dropped 44% But one of every 68 households with loans got a filing, five times the national average. This is up 111% from April 2008. In Florida, the foreclosure rate jumped 37% with one in every 135 households with loans getting a filing. California came in third with one in every 138 housing units getting a filing.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-13-2009 @ 4:19PM
Mike O said...
We're out of the eye of the hurricane, but the storm is far from over.
I think it's still going to be pretty rocky the next couple quarters when you consider that the unemployment rate will continue to climb, Option ARM's are coming due, and more foreclosures are on the horizon.
On the plus side, I have seen a lot more people looking at the houses for sale in my area, which means that bargain hunters are looking. I don't see residential real estate prices falling a whole lot more (10-15% off today's prices).