Foreclosure Listings Blog

Foreclosed listing properties are still growing in Hays County, Texas, according to a foreclosure monitoring firm based in Texas.

Based on the number of properties posted for the December auction in Hays, the pace of foreclosures this December is still above the pace in December last year. With 125 properties listed for the county-administered auction in the first week of December, the rate of foreclosure rose by 79 percent compared to the same period last year.

For the whole fourth quarter, a total of 396 properties were posted for the monthly foreclosure auctions, an increase of 66 percent compared to the 2008 fourth quarter. For the whole year of 2009, Hays County posted a total of 1,470 units in foreclosure, a jump of 55 percent from the annual total in 2008.

According to the president of the research firm, the 2009 total postings marked the highest total Hays County posted since 2004 when the county also posted more than 1,000 properties in foreclosure.

The president added that foreclosure postings for December this year marked the 11th consecutive month that postings surpassed 100, although the December posting total was lower by two units than the total of foreclosed listing properties posted for the November foreclosure auction.

Foreclosure activities in other Austin metro-area counties also increased in the October to December quarter compared to the same period in 2008. In Williamson County, foreclosure postings rose by 89 percent, higher than the increase in Hays. Postings in Travis and in Bastrop increased by 56 percent and 28 percent, respectively. For the whole Austin metro area, the increase in postings was 60 percent.

If yearly total postings are considered, Williamson County had the highest increase compared to 2008, with an increase rate of 61 percent. Total postings in Hays increased by 55 percent while postings in Travis increased by 58 percent. Across the Austin metropolitan area, total postings for the year 2009 marked an increase of 57 percent. Bastrop County posted the lowest increase in annual postings, rising by only 39 percent.

The foreclosure monitoring firm tracks all types of real estate properties in Hays, including residential, industrial and commercial properties and vacant lands. It monitors foreclosure properties that are scheduled for auction at the courthouse of Hays County every month.

For the year 2009, the last scheduled auction of foreclosed listing properties in Hays County would be on December 2, the first Tuesday of December.

Foreclosed listing properties rose in number last year in Colorado despite significantly fewer home loans granted, according to Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.

Payday consumer lenders and mortgage lenders cut down on various types of loans, but still loan defaults increased. Delinquencies on loans made by supervised lenders rose by 23 percent while loan defaults soared by 200 percent compared to 2007.

Suthers said that the significant increases in delinquencies and defaults in consumer and mortgage loans are troubling. He said that consumers need to negotiate with their lenders to save their homes and to preserve their credit records. He also called on lenders to consider working out repayment plans or implement loan modification schemes and to carry out responsible lending policies.

According to the attorney general’s office, overall loan volume dropped by 53 percent, driven largely by an overwhelming 77 percent drop in mortgage loans and the 50-percent decrease in auto loans.

More significantly, the number of supervised lenders dropped by 40 percent, driven again largely by the lack of available funds for lending and tightened lending standards. As foreclosed listing properties grew in record numbers, lenders realized the need to screen thoroughly their borrowers. Additionally, several lenders were acquired by national banks or by federal savings associations, which are exempt from state regulations and licensing.

Meanwhile, according to Suthers, the percentage of unpaid payday loans dropped from 4.8 percent in 2007 to 4.4 percent the following year. Despite a decrease in amount of payday loans granted by 11.4 percent and the more than 13-percent drop in the volume of loans made, payday lenders still granted over $566 million in payday loans last year.

Across Colorado, the number of residents who obtained loans from payday lenders increased to 303,462, a rise of one percent from the prior year. The average loan rose to $369, with the average yearly interest rate reaching 317 percent. The number of payday lenders who were able to get licensed dropped to 610, but the decreased number did not push down total payday loan amounts.

Almost 15,000 took out small-installment loans, with the average installment loan amount reaching $589 and with interest rates ranging from 59 percent to 222 percent.

Colorado residents also faced difficulties in their mortgage loans in the third quarter. More than 16,000 residents were notified of mortgage default or foreclosure, with nearly 5,000 homes already repossessed by banks and sold as foreclosed listing properties.

Miami foreclosure listings are getting filled with underwater homes as more underwater homeowners deliberately default and let their homes go into foreclosure, according to a recent study conducted by credit analyst Experian and consulting firm Oliver Wyman.

In South Florida, where many houses have fallen in value by 50 percent, many homeowners have deliberately defaulted even if they had the money to pay their loans. They chose to pay their other debts, such as credit card debts, and to have some savings to help them start over.

In Miami-Dade, about 28 percent of mortgage delinquencies in the last quarter of 2008 were deliberate defaults, marking an increase of 8 percent from the last quarter in 2007.

With property values continuing their downward slide, analysts contend that the number of deliberate defaults will continue to rise.

Another reason for the increase in defaults is the disappearance of the stigma of being foreclosed. Foreclosure is now a common occurrence, so it is easier for homeowners now to just give up and move out of their homes or wait for eviction.

Foreclosure defense lawyer Roy Oppenheim said that borrowers who are allowing their homes to enter Miami foreclosure listings are justifying to themselves that many others are getting foreclosed. Oppenheim conducts seminars on strategic defaults and financial options for troubled homeowners.

According to a foreclosure tracking firm, the total amount of all home loans in South Florida collectively exceed the total value of all mortgaged homes in the region by $62.7 billion. In Miami-Dade, about 50 percent of all mortgages are underwater.

As of March, the median negative equity in Broward for borrowers who took out loans in 2006 was $75,000. Negative equity is equal to the gap between the home market value and the mortgage loan balance. The median for borrowers in Miami-Dade was $63,000, based on an online real estate firm.

Andrea Heuson, a professor of finance at the University of Miami, said that she does not blame homeowners for deliberately defaulting because of their significant losses.

On the other hand, William Hardin, a professor of real estate at Florida International University, insisted that homeowners are morally obliged to pay their loans if they can.

Amazingly, strategic defaulters have been discovering that they can repair their credit records after foreclosure more quickly than they expected by just keeping current with their other financial obligations such as credit card debts.

There are a lot of affordable homes in Miami foreclosure listings. Visit TopForeclosureListings.com to get more information about them.

Foreclosed properties listings in Plainfield, New Jersey will soon feature apartment units after six foreclosure lawsuits were filed against Connolly Properties Inc., a real estate firm that manages 1,130 apartment units in Plainfield and considered the biggest apartment operator in the city.

Finding foreclosure listings in underwater markets can result in profitable investments for individuals who can afford to wait for several years before they can sell their acquired properties at high profit levels.

Market studies find foreclosure listings are growing in African-American communities in Chicago, Illinois. Results showed that vacant, bank-owned properties in the city are concentrated in African-American dominated communities.

Lists of foreclosed homes throughout the country are expected to grow further as the rate of mortgage defaults continue to rise, based on data from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision.

Bank foreclosure listings from UBS, CIM and BofA now include apartment units seized or foreclosed in San Francisco.

The pace of home foreclosure listing in Iowa stepped up in July while home sales declined in August, according to data from the Iowa Association of Realtors.

Foreclosure home listings are now getting the attention of homeowner associations across the country, especially condo associations.