Foreclosures were down last month, which is good for the housing market, but there are still plenty of foreclosures to choose from.  These articles shed some light on what is going on.

November Residential Foreclosures Down for Fourth Straight Month

(IRVINE, CA) — The monthly foreclosure numbers are dropping, but they are still high compared to 2008, reports Irvine, CA-based RealtyTrac.

The company’s newest data released today shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions  were reported on 306,627 U.S. properties during the month, a decrease of nearly 8 percent from the previous month but still up 18 percent from November 2008.

The report also shows one in every 417 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in November.   –more

Foreclosures Imminent with many Homes in Negative Equity

The US housing market is still in the throes of a crisis. As long as unemployment remains at a high of 10 per cent and people lose jobs thick and fast, defaults on mortgage payments will remain. Hence, foreclosures have become common. There is a section that feels that the housing market is improving. However, the managing partner at AAA Home Rescuers, Mandy Peacock, loves to disagree. Her company modifies mortgages. In fact, Peacock typifies the crisis being faced by homeowners.

She had bought a condo in Las Vegas three years ago at a price of $250,000. She borrowed the entire amount at the interest rate of 12 percent. When the economy hit the trough in 2007, she realized that she was paying more for the condominium whose value had dipped. She is now planning to sell the property at a price of $49,000. Peacock says that she is an optimistic person but she is realistic too.

If one report is anything to go by, then 23 per cent of mortgage holders are in negative equity, which means that they owe more than what their homes are worth. The section, whose homes are “near negative” equity have jumped up to 28 per cent. These are homeowners who do not even have five percent equity in properties they own.   –more

Related real estate foreclosure articles

• To Foreclose or Not To Foreclose: The Real Deal files a dispatch… (curbed.com)
• It’s OK to Walk Away, A Law Professor Argues (blogs.wsj.com)
• Foreclosure plague slowing: Filings fall 8% (money.cnn.com)

Technorati Tags: Foreclosure, Property, Real estate, U.S. Housing Market