Distressed Properties Sale Articles

More foreclosure houses for sale are expected in the coming months after the expected surge in loan modifications did not happen, according to a report from the Treasury Department.

Only 12 percent of homeowners qualified for loan modifications under the Making Home Affordable program were able to have their loans modified.

According to the report, only 360,165 qualified home loans were modified to result to affordable monthly payments through August, an increase from the running total of 235,247 through July.

The Treasury Department admitted that despite the slight improvement in numbers, lenders need to do more to prevent foreclosures. Michael Barr, financial institutions assistant secretary at the Treasury, said that the 12 percent was an improvement from the 9 percent in July.

Barr reported to the House Financial Services Subcommittte that he is positive the federal government will reach its goal of helping 500,000 borrowers by the end of October.

According to Michael Barr, however, even if the Home Affordable Modification Program realizes all its goals, millions of foreclosure houses for sale will still arise in the coming months because of the continued fall in home prices in many areas and the persistence of the effects of unemployment and the downturn.

Barr cited the prediction of housing analysts that over 6 million homeowners could lose their houses to foreclosure in the next 3 years. He admits that the federal government needs to continue finding ways to work with lawmaker, agencies, state regulators and private-sector entities to help as many homeowners as possible.

A total of 47 servicers and lenders are now modifying loans, with Saxon Mortgage Services leading the servicers in performance. Saxon modified 39 percent of its qualified borrowers, increasing its 25-percent performance in July.

JPMorgan Chase led the big banks in performance, modifying 25 percent of qualified loans and improving its 20-percent performance in July. The other top performers were Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

Wells Fargo said it has stepped up its loan modification efforts by 64 percent compared to July and planned to surpass its goal of modifying 60,000 qualified loans by November 1.

Bank of America meanwhile said it has doubled its loan modification efforts, resulting to over 68,000 loan modifications since its previous report.

On the whole, if these lenders and servicers continue to carry out their commitment to help homeowners, they can significantly reduce the predicted millions of foreclosure houses for sale in the coming years.

More Los Angeles foreclosure homes are expected to enter the market as home prices rise, according to real estate analysts in Southern California. They contend that many lenders are holding out for higher prices and that the others are trying to comply first with the federal foreclosure prevention program before pursuing their foreclosures.

In Los Angeles County, the median sales price reached $321,000 in July, a substantial increase from the $300,000 median of the past several months. In Orange County, the median home sales price climbed up to $420,000, a significant increase from the $370,000 median in January.

Based on real estate records, the number of houses hit with foreclosure filings in California is still high despite a slowdown in foreclosure sales. In July, almost 125,000 homes across the state were listed for foreclosed home auctions, nearly twice the number of foreclosed houses in July last year.

Housing analysts contend that lenders have been delaying repossessions because of various reasons. Aside from federal foreclosure prevention compliance and pricing factors, lenders may be deferring foreclosures to reduce the value of non-performing assets on their books and result to more attractive quarterly results.

In Burbank, according to the analysts, only around 130 single-family houses priced below $1 million are on listings, but over 350 units priced similarly have been hit with foreclosure filings previously. Even if the median sales price in Burbank dropped by 4 percent to $519,000 this July, the number of single-family houses sold in July remained the same as last year’s July sales.

Across Southern California, the lower-priced sector of the home market is getting increased demand. Bidding wars have been observed in price ranges below $500,000. Home sales across the region increased by 19 percent in July, compared to sales in July last year.

In the Southland area, the median house price remained at $268,000, which is far below the $505,000 peak price in 2007.

The median price across Southern California in July was $268,000, still 23 percent lower than the median in July 2008. But compared to the past three months, the median price has been rising, increasing by 6 percent to $265,000 in June and by 1 percent in July.

Meanwhile, sales of houses and condo units priced below $500,000 comprised 80 percent of sales in July, a decrease of 85 percent from March.

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The percentage of FHA-guaranteed homes which ultimately went into foreclosure house listings in June increased to 1.76 percent compared to 1.6 percent in June last year. The delinquency rate for FHA home loans also increased, climbing up from 5.57 percent in June last year to 6.88 percent in June this year.

Foreclosure houses in Worcester, Massachusetts are being sold at prices lower than tax assessments made by the city’s tax assessors.

Banks in Missouri suffered losses in the second quarter as the high number of foreclosed houses across the state pressured the banks to increase their reserves and their write offs for delinquent loans.

Following the examples of Saginaw, Genesee and Sanilac counties, Bay County has established its own land bank aimed at buying foreclosed properties for sale.

Public foreclosure property auctions in Texas could face legal challenges and other difficulties after the enactment of a new law that takes effect this September.

Another bank was downed by assets in foreclosure for sale, putting the tally of failed banks in Georgia in 2009 at 17 and total failed banks in the U.S. this year at 78.

Foreclosed homes auctions in the coming months in New York may include high-end condo units at the Carriage House in Chelsea after the condominium complex became the target of foreclosure and payment lawsuits by lenders and contractors for non-payment of loans and bills totaling more than $20 million.

A number of foreclosed homes auctions are being planned by the city officials of Saint Paul, Minnesota to reduce the number of vacant and foreclosed homes across the city.