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San Fran condo sales, REO listings up in 2010: Realtor association

Friday, March 25th, 2011 at 11:56 am  
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Home sales in San Francisco declined in August, but the median sales price increased, according to market data released by the San Francisco Association of Realtors and the Berkeley, Calif.-based Rosen Consulting Group.

In addition, home listings are up 21% from 2009, the result of banks putting more homes on the market and seller perception of a favorable shift in market conditions, the joint report said.

More condos are selling this year than last, but single-family homes still account for the majority of sales in San Francisco. The median sales price of all home sales was $730,000 in August 2010, up 4.4% from the same month in 2009. The report said 60% of all August sales were single-family houses listed for less than $700,000. By comparison, the rate of all home sales in August 2007 priced for less than $700,000 was 30%.

August home sales were down 10% year-over-year in August, but sales for this year are still outpacing 2009, boosted by a surge in condo sales. Through August 2010, 1,513 single-family home sales were completed compared to 1,350 completed sales during the first eight months of 2009, a 12.1% increase, the report said. Through the first eight months of the year, single-family home sales are up 8.5%, while condo sales are up 29.3% compared to 2009.

But real estate professionals are cautiously optimistic about the future of San Francisco’s housing market.

“There are reasons to be optimistic about the future direction of the San Francisco housing market,” said John Lee, president of the Realtor association, in a press statement. “As employment levels rise and consumer sentiment increases, home sales activity should increase and further strengthen the city’s housing market.”

It appears the 2010 sales pace will continue to slow in San Francisco. The number of single-family homes under contract slowed to 199 units, a 5% decline from August 2009. There is a 3.3-month supply of houses in San Francisco, compared to 2.8 months in August 2009, with inventory increasing across all price levels.

For homes priced less than $700,000, there is a 2.9 months supply, a 3.6 months supply for houses listed between $700,00 and $1.2 million and a 5-month supply of homes listed more than $1.2 million.

Condo sales are up for the year, but for the month of August, sales were down 12% year-over-year. The report said the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit is impacting condos more than single-family houses. In addition, the median price was down 2.3% to $649,500 year-over-year in August.

Condo inventory for sale in August were comparable to 2009 levels, 4.3 months. There is a 5.8-month supply of luxury condos priced above $900,000, while condos priced below $500,000 was at a 2.7-month supply. Condos between $500,000 and $900,000 were at a 3.7 months supply.

Write to Austin Kilgore.

View full post on News | REO Insider

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Dallas-Fort Worth will reach 60,000 foreclosure filings in 2010: market estimates

Thursday, October 14th, 2010 at 11:59 pm  
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The Dallas-Fort Worth housing market will post 60,000 foreclosure filings in 2010, according to estimates by Foreclosure Listing Service.

The suburban Dallas-based company said a record 53,107 residential foreclosure postings have been filed in the first 10 months of 2010, based on its data collection and filing deadlines for October on the four-county area, and are up 4% compared to the same period of 2009.

“Four percent may not sound like a lot, but postings have been on the high-side for some time now. D-FW home postings have climbed 54% over the past three years and surged 379% from 10 years ago,” George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service, said in a press statement.

“Even though (year-over-year) posting activity has declined in six of the past 10 months, you must remember that monthly adjustments are normal; and, the higher the foreclosure numbers, the percentage adjustment up or down tends to be larger too,” Roddy added. “That is why the bigger picture provides a much more accurate account of the status of the overall market.”

Unless the leading economic indicators improve dramatically, Roddy said he expects home postings to stay on the high-end, with some months increasing even higher than previous levels.

Denton County in the north had the smallest volume of postings year-to-date, 6,197 notices filed, but it had the highest percentage gain in posting activity over the last year, a 10% increase in foreclosure filings.

In Dallas, Tarrant and Collin counties, year-to-date posting activity increased from 3% to 5%. Dallas County has the highest volume of postings, 22,596 so far this year. Tarrant County has the second highest volume at 17,232 in the first 10 months of the year, while Collin County filings are up 5% to 7,082.

The 5,026 filings for the month of October must be in place 21 days before the foreclosure auction, according to Texas law. For next month’s auctions, postings are down year-over-year, but Roddy attributed that to normal ebb and flow of filings.

“For the past 25 consecutive months, D-FW residential posting activity has surpassed 4,000 postings each month; and, in 14 of those months, postings toppled the 5,000 mark,” Roddy said. “Postings pushed even higher, with more than 6,000 homes posted for two of the auctions and a new monthly record high was set in April of this year with 6,168 notices filed.”

Write to Austin Kilgore.

View full post on News | REO Insider

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Analysts see clog in foreclosure pipeline improve, but more delinquencies coming

Monday, September 13th, 2010 at 5:58 am  
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Research by Bank of America Merrill Lynch indicates what many REO brokers and agents already know — seriously delinquent mortgages continue to take more time to enter REO status.

A commonly used metric of mortgage performance is called the “roll rate.” It measures the transition, on a percentage basis, from one delinquency bucket to another, over a period of time. BofA Merrill Lynch said the number of mortgages that transferred from the bucket of current loans to “worse” (less than 30 days late), and loans more than 30 days delinquent, are continually on the rise, according to the graph below (click to expand):

But once those loans are more than 60 days delinquent, the roll rate from foreclosure to REO/liquidation status is at the lowest level since at least 2003, as seen in the chart below:

The problem, the analysts wrote, is that loans in foreclosure are less likely to go into REO or liquidation because servicers are facing difficulties disposing of assets in their portfolios.

While monumental efforts to prevent foreclosures are under way through government intervention, mortgage modifications, workout plans and nonforeclosure home forfeitures, the clogged foreclosure pipeline is only going to get more congested. During the past three months, the analysts said 70% of loans in the 60-day delinquency bucket move to a worse delinquency bucket, while on 15% go back into an improved status.

The clog in the pipe seems to be the 90-days-plus delinquent bucket. According to the research, 85% of mortgages that are 90 days or more delinquent stay in that category, rather than roll into the foreclosure, REO or liquidation buckets.

That trend has only recently begun to improve, with slight increases in the roll rate from delinquency to REO, albeit from the recent extremely low levels, the analysts wrote.

Write to Austin Kilgore.

View full post on News | REO Insider

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Clogged foreclosure pipeline may lead to DJSP layoffs

Saturday, September 11th, 2010 at 5:56 am  
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The clogged foreclosure pipeline is delaying new foreclosure filings, and Florida-based processing services firm DJSP Enterprises said it’s considering layoffs to deal with the decreased business.

DJSP Enterprises’ main client is The Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A. (DJSPA). In the DJSP Enterprises second quarter 2010 and mid-year earnings report released this week, the company said a slow down in new foreclosure filings will likely necessitate cost cutting and personnel layoffs. The company said it initially believed file volume would increase in the third quarter, leading to the decision to maintain current staffing levels. However, file volumes continue to be delayed and existing staffing levels are not sustainable indefinitely, the report said.

“While a large portion of our business can only be processed with human capital, we are identifying opportunities where technology and process change can be implemented to create efficiency,” recently-appointed DJSPA President and COO Richard “Rick” Powers said in the financial statement. “We are prepared to create efficiencies and make cuts where appropriate over the next three to six months.”

The disclosure came as DJSP Enterprises reported its adjusted net income for the first half of 2010 decreased to $7.8 million from $15.8 million compared to the first half of 2009.

Total revenue was $56.1 million during 2Q10, down 9.1% from $61.7 million in 2Q09. Total revenue excluding client costs was $28.9 million, down 6.5% from $30.9 million during the same period one year ago.

For the first half of the year, total revenue was up 9.3% to $127.7 million, but excluding client costs, total revenue was down 2.1% to $59.7 million.

The decline in revenue was primarily due to a decrease in foreclosure referrals, title fees, and client reimbursed costs, DJSP said. Title fees decreased due to the decrease in foreclosure volume and the switch made by some clients to use their own title company, the report added.

The decline was partially offset by increases in REO closings and liquidation operations in DJSP’s default servicing division and eviction fee revenue. REO closing revenue increased to $3.5 million from $2.1 million. DJSP Enterprises’ REO liquidation services that it provides to DJSPA contributed $3.2 million in revenue in the 2Q10, compared to $2.9 million in the same quarter last year.

Write to Austin Kilgore.

View full post on News | REO Insider

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Federal Home Loan Bank to hold foreclosure prevention workshop, Fannie opens help center

Friday, September 10th, 2010 at 11:55 am  
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In response to the number of home foreclosures in the Tucson, Ariz., area, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco and the Pima County Foreclosure Prevention Coalition will host a foreclosure prevention workshop Sept. 13 to assist homeowners facing foreclosure.

The workshop will include a panel discussion on how to identify mortgage scams, the tax impact of short sales, understanding the foreclosure process and alternative resolutions.

Housing counselors and lender/servicers will be available for one-on-one consultations with homeowners, who are encouraged to bring loan documents and relevant financial information.

In related news, Fannie Mae will host an open house event at its Atlanta mortgage help center to bring together counseling and mortgage industry partners to emphasize foreclosure prevention and highlight help that is available.

Fannie Mae’s new facility provides Atlanta area homeowners who have a Fannie Mae loan and may be at risk of foreclosure, the opportunity to meet directly with on-site staff and experienced housing advisers to discuss their mortgage situation.

The  face-to-face meetings help borrowers better understand the entire range of foreclosure prevention options and provide an opportunity to work closely with servicers to achieve a prompt resolution.

Write to Kerry Curry.

View full post on News | REO Insider

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Pre Foreclosure

Friday, September 3rd, 2010 at 10:24 pm  
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www.BankREOProfits.com Pre Foreclosure Investing is Great BUT – Bank REO property is being given away at HUGE discounts! Buy bank foreclosures from the source! Learn how here…

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Fed’s Rosengren: Consider community needs in solving foreclosure crisis

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 11:56 pm  
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The nation has spent too little time on community problems that have arisen from the country’s housing crisis, the CEO of the Boston Federal Reserve said at a national summit about REO and vacant property issues.

“Rather than treating the symptom — the high REO problem — we need to better understand how to resolve the more general problems in communities that lead to higher concentrations of REOs and exacerbate the effects of high REOs,” said Eric Rosengren, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

Rosenberg made his comments during a two-day Federal Reserve summit that began Tuesday in Washington.

“Do we need more holistic approaches to addressing this crisis? Should there be more state and federal revenue sharing focused on providing flexible funds to the communities most affected?  My answer to both of these questions is a yes. But I would also argue that we need to not only explore alternative solutions, but also do a much better job of establishing which solutions work.”

It’s important to consider how the foreclosure problem should be framed, he said, bringing forth three different existing views among housing and policy experts:

1. If it is “a foreclosure and REO problem rooted in the housing bubble, the solutions will tend to emphasize mitigating the foreclosure problem or accelerating the disposition of REO properties,” Rosenberg said.

2. If it’s defined as a housing problem, then the country “might focus on solutions that result in sustainable home ownership … focusing on financial education, addressing predatory home financing and redefining appropriate underwriting standards.”

3. If viewed through the community lens, issues such as code enforcement, unemployment and crime must be addressed in neighborhoods disproportionately affected by foreclosures.

The current crisis, Rosenberg said, contains elements of all three frameworks. “This is a foreclosure problem. This is a housing problem. This is a community problem,” he said.

Not surprisingly, New England ZIP codes with a high concentrations of REO properties have suffered larger declines in home prices than ZIP codes with lower REO concentrations, he said. Communities that faced challenges before the foreclosure crisis made them more likely to suffer disproportionately the consequences of the crisis, Rosenberg noted. (Click chart to expand view.)

ZIP codes with four or more REOs per square mile have higher property crime rates, higher rates of low birth-weight babies, higher unemployment rates, weaker small business activity and higher school dropout rates.

“This is not a one-size-fits-all foreclosure or housing problem; these are community problems,” he said.

Rosenberg said he’s encouraging the Boston Fed to look at how REOs can exacerbate problems in troubled communities look for solutions to address these neighborhood issues.

Write to Kerry Curry.

View full post on News | REO Insider

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Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at 4:23 am  
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Foreclosure starts reach fourth highest point on record: LPS

Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 5:56 pm  
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Bank Foreclosure

Saturday, August 28th, 2010 at 4:29 pm  
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