Foreclosure Crisis Slowing Sales
The foreclosure mess is making it harder for banks to sell properties. ForeclosureRadar, which tracks foreclosures in five Western states, says the number of properties coming to auction in Arizona, California, and Nevada has declined by more than 30 percent.
Investors are backing away from sales because they fear that the properties they buy will be tied up in an investigation, says Sean O’Toole, CEO of Foreclosure Radar.
O’Toole believes the problem is short-lived and ultimately will be settled in favor of the banks. “The fear that has been created in based more in hype than in law,” he says.
Source: CNNMoney.com, Les Christie (11/29/2010)
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Bankers: The End of Foreclosure Crisis is Near
The Mortgage Bankers Association is seeing signs that the foreclosure crisis is ending.
“The continued and sizable drop in the 30-day delinquency rate is a concrete sign that the end may be in sight,” says Jay Brinkmann, MBA’s chief economist, in a published statement.
Brinkmann said that normally there is a large spike in short-term mortgage delinquencies at the end of the year because of high heating bills and holiday expenditures. This year, there was not only no spike, but the 30-day delinquency rate actually fell from 3.79 percent to 3.63 percent.
Thirty-day delinquencies have historically been a leading indicator of serious delinquencies and foreclosures, Brinkmann said.
“[This] gives us growing confidence that the size of the problem now is about as bad as it will get,” he said.
Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (02/19/2010)
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Why Rent When Buying is Cheaper?
The foreclosure crisis has knocked down prices so much in some parts of the country that it’s cheaper or only slightly more expensive to own than it is to rent.
BusinessWeek, with help from research firm Reis, calculated ownership costs assuming a fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage for 100 percent of the purchase price with no down payment. The magazine said that had they factored in a 20 percent down payment – what most people must make these days – owning would have been cheaper than renting in most metros.
“It’s a great time to buy,” says Mollie Carmichael, senior vice-president of John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, Calif. “If you can own a home for less than the cost to rent, then it’s a logical financial proposition.” Full Story..
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