Foreclosure Listings Blog

The foreclosure list in Napa Valley is now being populated by a rising number of vineyards and wineries as land values continue to fall and as consumers shift to lower-priced wine brands.

According to a survey carried out by Silicon Valley Bank, at least 10 vineyards and wineries in Napa are expected to change ownership this year and next year through distressed or foreclosure sales.

The bank, which serves mostly high-end wineries, said that seven percent of its clients have troubled finances and that 71 percent are having difficulty in finding credit. According to Bill Stevens, head of the bank’s Saint Helena wine division, 250 clients who are winemakers are reporting their worst situation in 20 years. Stevens added that the newer ones are experiencing the highest level of difficulties.

According to Robert Nicholson, land values in the valley, which hosts about 400 wine producers, have plunged by 15 percent from their peak level in 2007. The decline in values has prevented producers from refinancing their loans or making new loans.

Over the one-year period ended January 2010, the total number of vineyards and wineries that have defaulted on their loans and are expected to enter the Napa foreclosure list this year has risen four times to 18.

As consumers work out their budget and shift to cheaper wines, the dollar value of retail wine sales in the country has decreased by 3.3 percent in 2009 to $29 billion after soaring every year since 1991. The dollar value plunged despite the 1.9-percent rise in sales volume to 323 million wine cases in 2009 because consumers purchased cheaper brands, according to a report from Gomberg, Fredrikson and Associates.

According to officers of Rabobank Nederland, which finances agribusinesses, sales of premium wines – priced above $15 – fell last year by 10 percent, and sales of ultra-premium labels – priced above $30 – dropped by more than 15 percent.

Bill Harlan, owner of Oakville winery, said that foreclosures in the wine industry will surge this year. Last December, he has acquired the neighboring Diamond Oaks winery whose owner Dinesh Maniar was hit with two foreclosure filings.

Rob McMillan, founder of the Silicon Valley Bank wine division, said that over 30 wineries in California have been listed for sale. Some of these were new to the wine industry; others have high levels of debt and have high risks of entering the Napa Valley foreclosure list for vineyards and wineries.

Foreclosed listing pace has been slowing down in the San Fernando Valley, also known as SFV, Valle, 818 or the Valley. According to California records, more than 50 percent of the land area of Los Angeles lies within the Valley.

Based on a report released by the California State Northridge Valley Economic Research Center, the number of default notices filed in January this year fell by 4 percent from the previous month to 972 notices. It also marked a stunning 41-percent drop from the 1,644 notices sent to homeowners in January 2009.

Additionally, completed foreclosures dropped to only 507 units, a significant decrease of 34 percent compared to December 2009 and an 11-percent drop from January 2009.

In part because of the drop in foreclosure activity, home prices in the Valley improved, prompting a lot of buyers to make their purchases before prices rise to high levels again.

The home price median for homes sold in January surged to $398,750, a sharp jump of 13 percent compared to the median in January last year. Another good news for market observers is the increase in home sales year-over-year for the 17th straight month.

According to William Roberts, director of the research center, the declining foreclosed listing pace in the Valley and the increase in prices and sales indicate that the housing market is starting to rise up from its troubles.

Total home sales in January rose to 1,108 units, a 13-percent increase from 982 units sold in January 2009, although a 34-percent drop from the 1,687 units sold in December 2009. Roberts, however, explained the December-January sales decline as normal based on sales data over the years.

Members of the Southland Regional Association of Realtors also affirmed the reported sales and prices increases. Jim Link, chief executive officer of the association, said that the rising trend started in March last year.

Based on Southland data, the January 2010 median sales price of $380,000 marked a 9-percent increase from the January 2009 median of 359,000 but it also marked a 20-percent drop from the December 2009 median price of $400,000. The median price for condos also increased from $190,000 in January 2009 to $215,000 in January this year.

According to Jim Link, if the Valley does not suffer another economic hit, the pace of foreclosed listing will continue its downward trend and will allow the market to finally recover from depressed home prices.

Before you can find the best foreclosure listings, you must first know why certain foreclosure listings are considered the best.

For many prospective foreclosure buyers, the best listings are those that offer information on a large number of foreclosed properties, those that offer detailed and helpful information on these properties and those that are updated frequently.

In short, the best listings are those that help you find the best and most affordable property you are looking for in the location you are targeting and in ways that are not too costly and not too time consuming.

You can find the best foreclosure listings online in at least three places: the websites of government agencies that deal with real estate properties, the websites of mortgage lenders and real estate companies, and the websites of paid foreclosure listings providers.

You can go to the websites of the Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Department of Agriculture. Several of these websites lead you to homesales.gov where you can make your home search. The other agencies lead you to the websites of their real estate management contractors where you can also do your home search.

These sites affiliated with the government are considered among the best because they are complete, updated and contain a large number of properties. They can afford to provide quality information because they are funded by the government.

Besides, during these times of record numbers of foreclosures, these government agencies want to hasten their sales and move all their repossessed properties and therefore make ways to facilitate home searching by prospective home buyers.

The websites of mortgage lenders are also easy to use and are updated. They offer you search options so you can narrow your search to the specific zip code you want or according to property type, list price, number of bedrooms or square footage.

The advantage of paid foreclosure listings over the government-affiliated sites and the lender-owned sites are their wider scope. These paid listings providers include foreclosures from all lenders, whether private- or public-owned.

The best paid listings are those that are frequently mentioned or listed in reviews and in articles. In some cases, the best foreclosure listings are not the largest providers, especially if you are interested in certain places only. Just remember that the best providers are those that are transparent – they deliver what they say on their websites and say what they do not deliver.

Foreclosure homes listings in the Twin Cities of Minnesota have been including a rising number of condos as more condo developers face hard times.

Foreclosed home listings continue to grow in the condo and townhome sector of the housing market in Brevard County, Florida.

The foreclosures list of Pittsburgh failed to get the attention of the Housing and Urban Development Department in its second Neighborhood Stabilization Program funding round. Pittsburgh asked for $29 million in funding, but it did not receive any amount.

Real estate foreclosure listings are expected to grow further this year due to record levels of home-equity debts and other second-liens.

The number of house foreclosures for sale in the city of Cedar in Utah that closed in 2009 accounted for around 32 percent of all home sales.

Foreclosure lists are expected to grow, dampening hopes of recovery in the housing sector, because of the continued rise in mortgage delinquencies.

The pace of foreclosure house listing is faster in more urbanized areas in New Jersey, as shown in the much higher number of foreclosure filings in Middlesex County, which has more urban areas and higher population than other counties such as Hunterdon and Somerset.