NATIONAL FORECLOSURES INCREASED IN EVERY QUARTER OF 2005

RealtyTrac ^ | 1/23/2005 | Staff Writers

[B4Ranch]

Here ya go. See for yourself what the news is. Not a pretty picture is it?

U.S. Supply of Foreclosed Properties Reaches Its Highest Level of 2004

RISMEDIA, June 8-There were 29,990 new foreclosed residential properties listed in the U.S. during May 2004, according to Foreclosure.com,. Overall, the total number of foreclosed properties available in the U.S. for the month of May was 82,991. While the number of new foreclosure listings remained relatively even from April to May, there was an increase of 10 percent in the total number of available properties.

"The increase in foreclosure inventory during the past month indicates that lenders are burdened with a high number of properties. This creates a very attractive buyer's market, as lending institutions do not benefit from holding foreclosed properties on their books," said Greg Sullivan, vice president and co-founder, Foreclosure.com. "Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas continue to show the largest number of foreclosed properties in the country. However, new foreclosures in Texas, North Carolina and Ohio dropped from April to May, the first drop in new listings in these states in 2004."

U.S. Foreclosure Data for May 2004:

ALASKA
Total Properties: 66
New Foreclosures: 27

ALABAMA
Total Properties: 1915
New Foreclosures: 670

ARKANSAS
Total Properties: 891
New Foreclosures: 291

ARIZONA
Total Properties: 1490
New Foreclosures: 712

CALIFORNIA
Total Properties: 649
New Foreclosures: 355

COLORADO
Total Properties: 2297
New Foreclosures: 875

CONNECTICUT
Total Properties: 300
New Foreclosures: 111

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Total Properties: 50
New Foreclosures: 28

DELAWARE
Total Properties: 115
New Foreclosures: 53

FLORIDA
Total Properties: 2405
New Foreclosures: 1016

GEORGIA
Total Properties: 6194
New Foreclosures: 2276

HAWAII
Total Properties: 28
New Foreclosures: 13

IOWA
Total Properties: 1078
New Foreclosures: 428

IDAHO
Total Properties: 720
New Foreclosures: 259

ILLINOIS
Total Properties: 2932
New Foreclosures: 1133

INDIANA
Total Properties: 4615
New Foreclosures: 1609

KANSAS
Total Properties: 893
New Foreclosures: 305

KENTUCKY
Total Properties: 1422
New Foreclosures: 504

LOUISIANA
Total Properties: 1193
New Foreclosures: 444

MASSACHUSETTS
Total Properties: 120
New Foreclosures: 38

MARYLAND
Total Properties: 1093
New Foreclosures: 531

MAINE
Total Properties: 138
New Foreclosures: 42

MICHIGAN
Total Properties: 5356
New Foreclosures: 1808

MINNESOTA
Total Properties: 620
New Foreclosures: 240

MISSOURI
Total Properties: 2379
New Foreclosures: 879

MISSISSIPPI
Total Properties: 1179
New Foreclosures: 402

MONTANA
Total Properties: 171
New Foreclosures: 48

NORTH CAROLINA
Total Properties: 6009
New Foreclosures: 1854

NORTH DAKOTA
Total Properties: 68
New Foreclosures: 18

NEBRASKA
Total Properties: 558
New Foreclosures: 201

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Total Properties: 56
New Foreclosures: 20

NEW JERSEY
Total Properties: 674
New Foreclosures: 329

NEW MEXICO
Total Properties: 743
New Foreclosures: 255

NEVADA
Total Properties: 406
New Foreclosures: 224

NEW YORK
Total Properties: 2064
New Foreclosures: 752

OHIO
Total Properties: 5564
New Foreclosures: 1673

OKLAHOMA
Total Properties: 1370
New Foreclosures: 494

OREGON
Total Properties: 1113
New Foreclosures: 411

PENNSYLVANIA
Total Properties: 3117
New Foreclosures: 1060

RHODE ISLAND
Total Properties: 6
New Foreclosures: 3

SOUTH CAROLINA
Total Properties: 2525
New Foreclosures: 856

SOUTH DAKOTA
Total Properties: 132
New Foreclosures: 51

TENNESSEE
Total Properties: 3730
New Foreclosures: 1291

TEXAS
Total Properties: 8715
New Foreclosures: 3213

UTAH
Total Properties: 1391
New Foreclosures: 556

VIRGINIA
Total Properties: 951
New Foreclosures: 316

VERMONT
Total Properties: 35
New Foreclosures: 15

WASHINGTON
Total Properties: 1987
New Foreclosures: 734

WISCONSIN
Total Properties: 966
New Foreclosures: 415

WEST VIRGINIA
Total Properties: 412
New Foreclosures: 116

WYOMING
Total Properties: 90
New Foreclosures: 36

For more information, visit http://www.foreclosure.com/

[Sender]

I see ads for these unconventional mortgages all the time. One was called the 'Smart Choice' loan, where you pay just the interest for 10 years, then blammo, you have 20 years left to pay off what should have been a 30-year loan, and the interest can change every 6 months.

The only way someone could survive one of these loans would be to have the discipline (and the money) to pay a few hundred dollars extra each month toward the principal. But if you have the money to do that, why not just get a low rate fixed loan in the first place?

Investors that are going to sell properties before 10 years and are sure the value will go up might be OK with a loan like this, but I bet the majority of interest only loans are to young couples who can't really afford a big house and don't understand what will happen in 10 years.

[NaughtiusMaximus]

During the late '80's I worked with a fellow who had gone underwater in the Fort Collins Colorado real estate market. He was in rural Arizona on the run from his creditors. My friend had been doing lots of creative leverage stunts which worked very well as long as the market was rising. But when the market began to fall . . . Whoa, Nellie!!

One thing he told me which will always remain in my memory was: When the market turns, which I bet its doing in Colorado and Utah, it does so with a vengeance and speed which is breathtaking. There were a whole boatload of Middle Easterners involved in the market there. And they all pulled stakes the same day.

Beware people! It's a jungle out there.

[ark_girl]

So did the dotcoms when people didn't invest in them wisely.

Again, I don't think any of this is Bush's fault. I think it's people not behaving responsibly. When you take out a 5 year ARM loan at 4.5% for as much house as you can possibly buy (even with the 4.5% interest rate) knowing full well that the interest rate WILL go up at the end of that 5 years, you're taking a huge risk. You're either betting you'll be able to refi at a decent rate or you're betting that you're going to be able to move to improve your situation at the end of that five years.

That's risky in Arkansas where the real estate prices have fluctuated modestly. That can create a very loud financial thud for people that did that in the states where the real estate prices have fluctuated wildly.

The cheap loans weren't bad. It's the cheap loans that turn into expensive loans that are the problem.

[stuartcr]

Correct, it is no one persons fault, but it certainly made the economy look good for a while.

[ark_girl]

You're assuming the property value will go up.

These interest only lone people have a VERY good chance of getting screwed in places like California or New York where the real estate prices are cooling off and could go down since a lot of them went too high.

I just know what Suze Orman says, and Suze makes sense.

[Siena Dreaming]

But what do I know, anyway? I'm just a geezer.

Why do you keep posting these thread then? And making this comment on every one? Everyone knows there will be a dip in housing; the MSM touts this all the time.

But, brother, you get tiresome.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Why do you keep posting these thread then? And making this comment on every one?

Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, ex-Texan gotta whine.

[caseinpoint]

Don't know whose fault it is, re Greenspan or Bush or Clinton, but we refi'd five years ago to change our adjustable to a fixed and shorten the term by ten years. Didn't take any funds out. Current equity at at least 2.5 times the mortgage balance so we can stand some downward pressure. By the way, we don't use credit cards, period, and we pay cash for our vehicles. Hubby and I are solid on paying off the house asap and resisting temptation to draw on the equity. Hopefully it will pay off in the long run. I know the lack of debt is nice right now. And our lifetstyle isn't spartan by any means. We live in California, by the way, an hour east of San Francisco.

[Siena Dreaming]

The problem is, because of the incessant posting of the same thing over and over, he's not just doing it for info purposes.

Looks like he's just trying to drum up traffic for his site.

[RightWhale]

What percent of private property was in foreclosure during the Great Depression? 30% ????

What percent is now in foreclosure?

[Toddsterpatriot]

Looks like he's just trying to drum up traffic for his site.

That's exactly what he's trying to do.

[lewislynn]

A total of 115,643 Texas properties entered some stage of foreclosure in 2005

----

California reported 61,563 properties entering some stage of foreclosure

Which of the two has the highest value, largest population and the one most talked about everyone, including businesses fleeing from again?

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

All this means is there is still no shortage of stupid people in the housing market.

BigMack

[ex-Texan]

Wait two more years.

[RightWhale]

What percent?

[ex-Texan]

About 60% of mortgages in California were interest only or ARM loans in 2005. In the past three years, the percentage was about 45%. Only 14% of Californians are able to afford homes with conventional financing. I predict people either will be leaving California in droves or facing foreclosure if they do not sell their homes. Do the math yourself. In Oregon, we are facing a similar scenario. Wages are at least 50% lower here. People making only $ 30,000 a year do not have any business buying $ 230,000 homes.

[ExSES]

TAXPAYERS to ultimately "pick up the tab"!

Please explain how the taxpayer picks up the tab.

Those ill conceived mortgages are resold to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and, if there ultimately are too many bad loans to cover from their reserves..., there WILL be a "Bail Out" similar to the Resolution Trust established to take care of the last such event in the 80s.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Those ill conceived mortgages are resold to Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac and, if there ultimately are too many bad loans to cover from their reserves

So when you said this:
This sort of scheme only works for the duration of the value bubble then..., the "homeowner" walks away leaving the TAXPAYERS to ultimately "pick up the tab"!

You were guessing. Because it hasn't happen before.

I don't suppose you know what these reserves are?

[ExSES]

I don't suppose you know what these reserves are?

Not right off hand (and if I did, I doubt that I could make a rigorous analysis of their sufficiency) but I do know that a number of knowledgable folks have expressed concern over both the governance and reserves of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Including Alan Greenspan just a few months back).

Whether this is an imminent danger or just a possibility, the marginal (and many fraudulent) mortgages are immediately resold into the secondary market after they are created.