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Real Estate Investing Information

Dec 18

A Bit Of Good News For Foreclosures

Image by respres via Flickr

Foreclosure may have plateaued, but there are still plenty out there. Short sales now could take six months to close because of the numerous properties facing foreclosure.

Some good news for those still in their home. Fannie Mae won’t evict anyone until after the new year. The articles below explain some of the current related news.

Foreclosure Backlog Hits 1.7 Million Homes

There are 1.7 million homes on the market which have gone through the foreclosure process. The number is at the highest level in history. The number, up from 1.1 million a year earlier, is likely to keep rising through the middle of next year or later, said Mark Fleming, chief economist of First American CoreLogic, the real estate research firm that released the studyThe news is another indication that there will be ongoing drags on the ability of the housing market to recovery both in terms of unsold inventory and prices.

It is a well-known fact that banks do not want to keep foreclosed homes on their balance sheets and are likely to keep dropping prices to find buyers. It appears that even this tactic, which should stimulate sales, is not working. There are several reasons why.

Many foreclosed homes are in neighborhoods that are partially deserted and will never recover. This is certainly true in parts of the inner cities of Detroit and other municipalities that have lost large portions of their populations over the last decade. Buyers will not enter these neighborhoods no matter how low prices get. –more

Foreclosure news round-up

Home for the holidays: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said Thursday that they won’t evict anyone from a foreclosed home from Saturday through Jan. 3 — a holiday break. Citigroup, meanwhile, announced a 30-day suspension from evictions and new foreclosures.

The Christian Science Monitor, reporting on Citigroup’s decision, points out that this sort of move saves a lending institution from comparisons it might not like. For instance, Christmas Eve evictions on the other hand, “bonuses that the bankers are raking in” on the other.

Fewer interested in buying foreclosures: Forty-three percent of adults polled in a survey released this week by Trulia and RealtyTrac said they would be at least somewhat likely to buy a foreclosed home, down from 55 percent in May. Renters are more interested in buying a foreclosure than homeowners (57 percent vs. 38 percent). And — not surprisingly — more than 90 percent of prospective second-home buyers and investors are at least open to the idea of a foreclosure purchase.

For you fellow wonks: Just over 2,200 people were polled for the companies by Harris Interactive, which says no margin of error can be calculated because it was an online survey and not based on a probability sample. –more