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U.S. Foreclosure activity decreasing in the west and on the rise in the midwest and east

This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for April 2012 which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 188,780 properties in the U.S. during the month, a 5 percent decrease from the previous month and a decrease of 14 percent from April 2011 and is [...]

Austin, Texas, Man Sentenced to 61 Months in Federal Prison for Bankruptcy Fraud and Identity Theft in Connection with Nationwide Foreclosure-rescue Scheme

An Austin, Texas, man was sentenced today in the Western District of Texas to 61 months in prison and was ordered to forfeit $84,010 for his role in operating a foreclosure-rescue scam in Southern California and elsewhere that charged distressed homeowners fees in exchange for fraudulently delaying foreclosure sales. [...]

REO’s bolstering home prices as investors are rushing to the rental markets

The report also says that “the combination of lower vacancies, increasing rental rates, and affordable REO properties” has attracted investors to the rental markets. The potential of strong (and, in some instances, even “instant”) cash flows as well as the potential for future appreciation on home prices is luring more and more investors into purchasing and holding single family homes rather than “flipping” them or doing short-term holds. [...]

Foreclosure activity falls to lowest level since 2007

This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the first quarter of 2012 which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 572,928 properties in the U.S. during the quarter, a 2 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a decrease of 16 percent from the first quarter of 2011. During the month, 1 out of every 230 homes in the U.S. had a foreclosure filing. [...]

Foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies drop in February; good news for the real estate market

Foreclosure starts and foreclosure sales were down in February 15 and 19 percent respectively from January according to the latest Mortgage Monitor report released by Lender Processing Services, Inc. today. The report also showed that mortgage delinquencies continue to decline as well with 7.57 percent of the homes in the U.S. with a mortgage being [...]

Lower Foreclosure Rates than a Year Ago for Sixty-One of the Top 100 Major Markets

The U.S. foreclosure rate in February was 3.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage, the same rate as the month before and down slightly from a year before when the rate was 3.6 percent. The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate in February was 7.3 percent, up slightly from the month before when the rate was 7.2 percent but down significantly from a year before when the rate was 7.8 percent. [...]

Mortgage delinquencies continue to decline; good news for the real estate market!

The U.S. mortgage loan delinquency rate was 7.57 percent of all home loans in February, down 5.0 percent from the month before and down 14.0 percent from a year ago, according to the “First-Look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data. The foreclosure presale inventory rate was 4.13 percent in February, a 0.5 percent decrease from the month before and a 0.3 percent decrease from a year ago [...]

Report shows For Every Two Homes Available for Sale, There Is One in the "Shadow"

st-louis-realtor-dennis-norman-shadow-inventory-corelogicA report released this morning by CoreLogic shows that the current residential “shadow” inventory as of January 2012 was 1.6 million units, equivalent to a 6-months’ supply, and approximately the same level last reported in October 2011. The shadow inventory is down from a year ago though, when it was at 1.8 million units, or an 8-months’ supply. Currently, the flow of new seriously delinquent (90 days or more) loans into the shadow inventory has been offset by the roughly equal flow of distressed sales (short and real estate owned), according to the report. “Almost half of the shadow inventory is not yet in the foreclosure process,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Shadow inventory also remains concentrated in states impacted by sharp price declines and states with long foreclosure timelines.” [...]

Foreclosure report shows mixed signals; rate down in U.S. but half of large metros up from a year ago

This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for February 2012 which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 206,900 properties in the U.S. during the month, a 2 percent decrease from the previous month and a decrease of 8 percent from the year before. During the month, 1 out of every 637 homes in the U.S. had a foreclosure filing. [...]

Bank of America, J.P. MOrgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial reach $25 Billion Agreement with Fed & State Government over Foreclosure Abuses

The Justice Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and 49 state attorneys general announced today the filing of their landmark $25 billion agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses. [...]

Real estate investor pleads guilty to bid rigging at foreclosure auctions

Last week, Wiley C. Chandler, plead guilty to one count of participating in a conspiracy to suppress and restrain competition by rigging bids to obtain selected properties at nonjudicial public real estate foreclosure auctions in San Joaquin County, California. [...]

Top Ten Cities to Buy REO’s and Pre-Foreclosures

This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for fourth quarter 2011 which showed that pre-foreclosure and REO home sales accounted for nearly one of every 4 home sales (24 percent) during the quarter which is an increase from 20 percent in the prior quarter, however down from 26 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. [...]

CALIFORNIA INVESTOR PLEADS GUILTY TO BID RIGGING AND FRAUD AT PUBLIC REAL ESTATE FORECLOSURE AUCTIONS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A real estate investor pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Sacramento to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, Calif., Sharis A. Pozen, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, and Benjamin B. Wagner, [...]

Three Northern California Real Estate Investors Agree To Plead Guilty To Bid Rigging At Public Foreclosure Auctions

Three Northern California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced. To date, as a result of the ongoing investigation, 20 individuals have agreed to plead guilty. [...]

Foreclosures in 2011 down 24 percent from 2010

According to a report just released by CoreLogic, there were 830,000 foreclosures completed during the year in 2011, a 24 percent decrease from 2010 when there were 1.1 million. For the month of December, there were 55,000 foreclosures, down 3.5 percent from November when there were 57,000 and down 17.9 percent from December 2010 when there were 67,000 foreclosures completed. [...]

California Investor Pleads Guilty To Bid Rigging And Fraud At Public Real Estate Foreclosure Auctions

A real estate investor pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Sacramento to conspiring to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, Calif., Sharis A. Pozen, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, and Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, announced. [...]

One in five home sales is a foreclosure and only two-thirds the cost of a non-foreclosure home

Foreclosure Price 34 Percent Below Average Price of Non-Foreclosures RealtyTrac, today released its third-quarter 2011 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that sales of homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for 20 percent of all U.S. residential sales in the third quarter of 2011, down from 22 percent of all sales in the second quarter and down from 30 percent of all sales in the third quarter of 2010. [...]

AG Settlement: Not Perfect, But Significant Reform of Mortgage Servicing

Based on what we’ve heard, the settlement between major banks and states’ Attorneys General (AGs), the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Department of Justice would represent an important step forward in addressing foreclosure abuses. The settlement would include key reforms to clean up unfair mortgage servicing practices. It would also provide an important template for ways banks can use principal reduction to reduce unnecessary foreclosures and put the country back on a path to economic recovery. [...]

Austin, Texas, Man Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Fraud and Identity Theft in Connection with Nationwide Foreclosure-rescue Scheme

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Mortgage delinquencies increase in November;   Foreclosures decline from month before

The U.S. mortgage loan delinquency rate was 8.15 percent of all home loans in November, up 2.7 percent from the month before and down 9.6 percent from a year ago, according to the “First-Look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data. The foreclosure rate, on the other hand, was 4.16 percent in November, a 3.0 percent decrease from the month before and a 2.0 percent increase from a year ago. [...]

Five Individuals indicted for bid rigging and fraud at foreclosure auctions

14 Individuals Charged in the Continuing Investigation

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The U.S. District Court in Sacramento today unsealed an indictment against four real estate investors and an auctioneer for their participation in conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions held in San Joaquin County, Calif., Sharis A. Pozen, [...]

Foreclosures decrease in November

This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for October 2011 which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 224,394 properties in the U.S. during the month, a three percent increase from the previous month and a decrease of 14 percent from the year before. During the month, 1 out of every 579 homes in the U.S. had a foreclosure filing. [...]

Three Charged with Fraud in Florida Foreclosure Rescue Scheme

WASHINGTON – Lisa Wright, 46, and Cathy Saffer, 52, of Pompano Beach, Fla., were charged today with a conspiracy to defraud homeowners and banks in a foreclosure rescue scheme, announced the Department of Justice. Also charged was Barrington Coombs, 57, a certified public accountant of Weston, Fla., who participated in the scheme. A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment charging Wright and Saffer with one count of conspiracy, three counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. The grand jury charged Coombs with one count of conspiracy and one count of wire fraud. [...]

Mortgage delinquencies decline in October;   Foreclosures on the rise

The U.S. mortgage loan delinquency rate was 7.93 percent of all home loans in October, down 2.0 percent from the month before and down a whopping 14.6 percent from a year ago, according to the “First-Look” report issued by Lender Processing Services, one of the countries largest loan servicers and aggregators of loan performance data. The foreclosure rate, on the other hand, was 4.29 percent in October, a 2.5 percent increase from the month before and a 9.4 percent increase from a year ago. [...]

Mortgage delinquency rate increases for first time since 2009

This morning, Trans Union released a report showing the national mortgage delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 60 or more days past due) increased to 5.88 percent (from 5.82 percent in the 2nd quarter) during the third quarter of 2011, after falling in the previous quarter by the largest rate in two years. This is the first time mortgage delinquency rates have increased since the end of 2009. [...]

Victims of bad foreclosure practices can now apply for review and possible compensation

In late September I wrote about a plan presented by acting Comptroller of the Currency, John Walsh, to address the “robo-signing” issue as well as other improper practices in the foreclosure process that have surfaced. Mr. Walsh’s plan includes an independent review of the files of borrowers that feel they were a victim of a wrongful foreclosure practice as well as the potential for compensation or other relief for borrowers that were found to have been subject to improper foreclosure practices. Just this week it was announced that eligible borrowers may not apply for a review of their file and, if irregularities are found, file a claim for compensation. [...]

Eight Northern California Real Estate Investors Agree to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging at Public Foreclosure Auctions

WASHINGTON – Eight Northern California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in two separate conspiracies to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced. [...]

US Foreclosure rate inches up in 3rd quarter but down significantly from a year ago

This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for 3rd quarter 2011 which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 610,337 properties in the U.S. during the quarter, a very slight (less than 1 percent0 increase from the previous quarter but a decrease of over 34 percent from the year before. During the quarter, 1 out of every 213 homes in the U.S. had a foreclosure filing. [...]

Two California Real Estate Investors Agree to Plead Guilty to Bid Rigging at Pulic Foreclosure Auctions

WASHINGTON — Two California real estate investors have agreed to plead guilty today for their roles in a conspiracy to rig bids and to commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Northern California, the Department of Justice announced. [...]

Housing market not out of the woods yet

Mark Fleming, Ph.D., Chief Economist for CoreLogic, in a presentation yesterday, said the housing market is not out of the woods yet as the potential of a double-dip in our economy increases and as 30 to 40 percent of economists feel there is a chance of another recession. [...]