Foreclosure filings were down in California to levels not seen in nearly 3
years, ForeclosureRadar.com's April report shows.
"The drop in filings, and the rise in cancellations, is surprising," says
Sean O'Toole, CEO and founder of ForeclosureRadar.com. "Banks have had time to
resolve robo-signing issues, so we should be seeing exactly the opposite
results, with lenders starting to catch up from recent delays."
Foreclosure filings were also down in Arizona, California, Nevada and
Washington.
Highlights from the report:
--Foreclosure filings in California fell to lows not seen since the fall
of 2008.
--Notices of default declined 25.8 percent, and notices of trustee sale
-- in which an auction is scheduled -- were down 10.9 percent from March.
--Foreclosure filings were down year over year, too, with notices of
default down 28 percent and notices of trustee sale falling 31.2 percent from
last April.
--Cancellations of auctions went up 27 percent, and there were 17.2
percent fewer properties going back to banks and a 15.8 percent fewer
purchased by investors.
--The average time to foreclose continued to climb, increasing 3.3
percent to 312 days.
43 percent of O.C. listings distressed
The latest Orange County housing report by broker Steve Thomas, who does
a bi-weekly analysis of the market, shows that as of May 12:
--3,798 distressed Orange County properties were listed for sale -- 43
percent of the 4,355 listed overall.
--17 percent of the distressed listings were foreclosures being sold by
banks; 83 percent of the distressed listings were short sales.
--3 percent of distressed listings ask for more than $1 million for the
home vs. 17 percent of all current Orange County listings run for $1
million-plus.
--49 percent of the distressed listings were attached homes; 51 percent
of the distressed listings were detached residences.
Thomas says:
"The active distressed inventory dropped by 36 homes in the past couple
of weeks. The distressed inventory now totals 3,798. The expected market time
for foreclosures is remains incredibly hot at 1.46 months. There are currently
only 664 foreclosures within the active listing inventory, a drop of seven
homes. There are currently 3,134 short sales on the active market, decreasing
by 29 homes in the past month. The expected market time is 2.82 months for
short sales, also a seller's market."
New mortgage forms are tested
The new consumer financial products agency is testing out more simple
mortgage disclosure forms, to make borrowers aware that loan payments could
soar and encourage them to shop around for a mortgage.
From Reuters:
"Two prototype mortgage documents released (last week) are some of the
first products to come out of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which
was created by last year's Dodd-Frank financial reform law and is scheduled to
formally open its doors on July 21.
"The banking industry is eyeing the agency warily, concerned it will push
them toward offering simple lending products that may fit fewer customers'
needs and restrict their ability to offer more profitable products.
"Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard University law professor preparing the
agency for its launch, said the agency's goal is to make financial products
easier to understand so that consumers know the full cost of a loan and so
they can compare what competitors are offering."
