California Foreclosure Report

No Foreclosure Wave In Sight

Investor discounts at trustee sale vary by county

- Foreclosure activity was again mixed in July. Foreclosure filings and cancellations dropped after rising last month, while foreclosure sales rose after dropping last month.
 

Record Number of Foreclosures Cancelled

Auction investors see fewer deals, better margins

- Foreclosure activity was mixed in June after being down across the board in May. Filing of new foreclosure notices rose, while foreclosure sales dropped. The number of foreclosure sales that were cancelled hit an all time record in June, but the increase was primarily driven by just one lender JP Morgan Chase, and it’s acquisitions including Washington Mutual. Although the number of properties purchased by 3rd parties at auction dropped significantly, they purchased nearly the same percentage of the total properties sold, and at a better discount to market value then we’ve seen in months.
 

California Foreclosure Activity Drops

Cancellations and Time-to-Foreclose increase year-over-year

- Foreclosure filings, outcomes and inventories dropped across the board from April to May. Foreclosure filings also declined substantially year-over-year with Notice of Default filings down 43.3 percent and Notice of Trustee Sale filings down 35.8 percent. The only significant increases from the prior year were Cancellations, up 141.3 percent, Sales to 3rd Parties, typically investors, up 75.4 percent, and Time-to-Foreclose, up 30.5 percent from May 2009.
 

Foreclosure Cancellations Continue to Climb

Short sales and loan modifications are not the only explanation

- Foreclosure filings were down in April for the first time since the beginning of the year. Despite the decline in filings, the inventory of properties in preforeclosure or scheduled for sale only dipped slightly as the drop in filings were offset by an increase in the time to foreclose. Cancellations continue to climb, up more than 32 percent from the beginning of the year. The number of properties sold to 3rd parties also continues to climb, helped again this month by slightly better discounts.
 

Foreclosure Sales Nearly Double from Prior Year

Despite Jump in Sales, Foreclosure Delays Remain at Record Levels

- Foreclosure sales increased 92.3 percent from the prior year, when most major lenders had voluntary moratoriums in place while awaiting the implementation of the Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Foreclosure sales increased 24.2 percent from February, with 79.2 percent of those going Back to Bank and the remainder Sold to 3rd Parties, primarily investors.
 

Foreclosure Starts Up Nearly 20% In California

Despite foreclosure inventories, foreclosure sales drop

- After reaching the lowest level in a year last month, Notice of Defaults, the start of the foreclosure process, increased by 19.7 percent in February. The number of properties scheduled for foreclosure sale remained near record levels, yet foreclosure sales, either Back to Bank or Sold to 3rd Parties, dropped by 11.9 percent total.
 

Foreclosure Activity Back Up as Stalemate Continues

Despite apparent declines daily foreclosure activity is up on all fronts

- With hundreds of thousands of California homeowners in foreclosure a stalemate continues as only a small percentage reach the end of the process through cancellation or sale and the time to foreclose increases. Once again the raw numbers fail to tell the story on foreclosure activity due to the difference in number of business days in January (19) vs. December (22). On a daily average basis foreclosure activity increased on all fronts.
 

Dramatic Declines in Foreclosure Activity

Banks cancel more foreclosures than they sell for first time

- Foreclosure activity dropped dramatically in December, especially when looked at on a daily average basis. For example while Notices of Default dropped 17.5 percent in aggregate, they actually dropped 32.5 percent on a daily average basis due to the fact that December had 22 days on which documents were recorded, versus 18 in November.
 

Foreclosure Cancellations Jump 40 Percent

November Foreclosure Sales and Filings Impacted by Holidays

- Despite apparent headline month-over-month declines in foreclosure activity, the real story requires looking at changes in the average daily activity. November had only 18 days on which filings could be recorded or trustee sales held because of fewer days in the month, Veterans Day and the Thanksgiving Holiday, while October had 22 recording days, and 21 trustee sale days.
 

Foreclosure Sales Jump by 21 Percent

Despite increase sales are still well below record levels

- After 3 months of consecutive declines the number of foreclosure sales taken back by banks rose by 22.24 percent from September and 20.95 percent from October 2008. Despite these dramatic increases, the number of foreclosures taken back by banks remains 42.56 percent below the peak reached in July 2008, from which time the inventory of scheduled foreclosures has grown by 131.36 percent.
 

No Shadow Inventory of Bank Owned Homes

Foreclosure Investors Still Finding Discounts at Trustee Sale

- ForeclosureRadar (www.foreclosureradar.com), the only website that tracks every California foreclosure and provides daily auction updates, issued its monthly California Foreclosure Report for September 2009. This month's report features not only a new look, but an important new statistic - Bank Owned (REO) Inventory. By looking at the number of foreclosures the banks have taken back and subtracting those that have since resold, we are able to show the number of foreclosures the banks have held as inventory over time.
 

California Foreclosure Filings Drop

Foreclosures "HAMPered" by Making Home Affordable Program

- ForeclosureRadar, the only website that tracks every California foreclosure with daily auction updates; today issued its California Foreclosure Report for August 2009. Foreclosure filings dropped both month-over-month and year-over-year, while the inventory of properties scheduled for foreclosure sale continued to grow, and foreclosure sales were flat.