Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Alex Veiga / Detroit News staff and wire reports
The number of U.S. homes heading toward foreclosure more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier, as weakening property values and tighter lending left many homeowners powerless to prevent homes from being auctioned to the highest bidder, a research firm said Tuesday.
In Michigan, foreclosure activity in the first quarter jumped 24.3 percent from a year ago, to 29,544 properties receiving at least one foreclosure-related filing. The state's first-quarter foreclosure rate of one for every 153 homes ranked it seventh-highest in the nation. States with higher rates were Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, Colorado and Georgia, Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc. said Tuesday.
Nationwide, 649,917 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in the first three months of the year, up 112 percent from 306,722 during the same period last year, RealtyTrac said. The latest tally represents an increase of 23 percent from the fourth quarter of last year.
Other first-quarter data for Michigan and Metro Detroit:
• Michigan: The report did have a bit of good news statewide. Foreclosures in the first quarter of 2008 were 8.76 percent lower than in the previous quarter.
• Wayne County: The first-quarter foreclosure rate of one filing for every 68 households ranked sixth-highest among U.S. metro areas, even with filings declining 3.65 percent from a year ago and 22.1 percent from last quarter, to a total of 12,402 filings for the period. Metro areas ranking higher than Wayne County were Stockton, Calif., Riverside/San Bernardino, Calif.; Las Vegas; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Sacremento, Calif.
• Oakland County: There were 3,657 foreclosure filings in the period, a 45.7 percent increase from a year ago and a 1.8 percent hike from the previous quarter. The foreclosure rate was one filing for every 143 households.
• Macomb County: Filings totaled 3,023, up 26.2 percent from a year ago, and 9.41 percent from last quarter. The rate was one foreclosure filing for every 116 households.
• Livingston County: The 574 filings represented a 261 percent increase from a year ago and 29.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007. The rate was one foreclosure filing for every 125 households.
• Oakland-Macomb metro area: RealtyTrac combined Oakland and Macomb counties into one metro area with a foreclosure rate that ranked 29th in the nation, at one foreclosure filing for every 133 households.
RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.
All told, one in every 194 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Foreclosure filings increased in all but four states.
The most recent quarter marked the seventh consecutive quarter of rising foreclosure activity, RealtyTrac noted.
"What would normally alleviate the foreclosure situation in a normal market is people starting to buy properties again," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing.
However, the unavailability of loans for people without perfect credit and a significant down payment is slowing the process, he said.
"It's a cycle that's going to be difficult to break, and we're certainly not at the breaking point just yet," Sharga added.
The surge in foreclosure filings also suggests that much-touted campaigns by lawmakers and the mortgage lending industry aimed at helping at-risk homeowners aren't paying off.
Hope Now, a Bush administration-organized mortgage industry group, said nearly 503,000 homeowners had received mortgage aid in the first quarter. Most of the aid was temporary, however.
Pennsylvania was a notable standout in the latest foreclosure data. The number of homes in the state to receive a foreclosure-related filing plunged 24.4 percent from a year earlier.
Sharga credited the decline to the state's foreclosure relief measures, noting that cities such as Philadelphia put in place a moratorium on all foreclosure auctions for April and implemented other measures aimed at helping slow foreclosures.
Nearly 157,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide during the quarter, according to RealtyTrac.
The flood of foreclosed properties on the market has contributed to falling or stagnating home values, yet lenders have yet to implement heavy discounts on repossessed homes, Sharga said.
Nevada posted the worst foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 54 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice, nearly four times the national rate. The number of properties with a filing increased 137 percent over the same quarter last year but only rose 3 percent from the fourth quarter.
California had the most properties facing foreclosure at 169,831, an increase of 213 percent from a year earlier. It also posted the second-highest foreclosure rate in the country, with one in every 78 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice.
California metro areas accounted for six of the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest foreclosure rates in the first quarter, RealtyTrac said.
Many of the areas -- including Stockton, Riverside-San Bernardino, Fresno, Sacramento and Bakersfield -- are located in inland areas of the state where many first-time buyers overextend themselves financially to buy properties that have plunged in value since the market peak.
"California still hasn't hit bottom," Sharga said. "We have a lot of California homes that are in early stages of default that may not be salvageable because either there's no market or financing available, or both."
Alex Veiga / Detroit News staff and wire reports
The number of U.S. homes heading toward foreclosure more than doubled in the first quarter from a year earlier, as weakening property values and tighter lending left many homeowners powerless to prevent homes from being auctioned to the highest bidder, a research firm said Tuesday.
In Michigan, foreclosure activity in the first quarter jumped 24.3 percent from a year ago, to 29,544 properties receiving at least one foreclosure-related filing. The state's first-quarter foreclosure rate of one for every 153 homes ranked it seventh-highest in the nation. States with higher rates were Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida, Colorado and Georgia, Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc. said Tuesday.
Nationwide, 649,917 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in the first three months of the year, up 112 percent from 306,722 during the same period last year, RealtyTrac said. The latest tally represents an increase of 23 percent from the fourth quarter of last year.
Other first-quarter data for Michigan and Metro Detroit:
• Michigan: The report did have a bit of good news statewide. Foreclosures in the first quarter of 2008 were 8.76 percent lower than in the previous quarter.
• Wayne County: The first-quarter foreclosure rate of one filing for every 68 households ranked sixth-highest among U.S. metro areas, even with filings declining 3.65 percent from a year ago and 22.1 percent from last quarter, to a total of 12,402 filings for the period. Metro areas ranking higher than Wayne County were Stockton, Calif., Riverside/San Bernardino, Calif.; Las Vegas; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Sacremento, Calif.
• Oakland County: There were 3,657 foreclosure filings in the period, a 45.7 percent increase from a year ago and a 1.8 percent hike from the previous quarter. The foreclosure rate was one filing for every 143 households.
• Macomb County: Filings totaled 3,023, up 26.2 percent from a year ago, and 9.41 percent from last quarter. The rate was one foreclosure filing for every 116 households.
• Livingston County: The 574 filings represented a 261 percent increase from a year ago and 29.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007. The rate was one foreclosure filing for every 125 households.
• Oakland-Macomb metro area: RealtyTrac combined Oakland and Macomb counties into one metro area with a foreclosure rate that ranked 29th in the nation, at one foreclosure filing for every 133 households.
RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.
All told, one in every 194 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Foreclosure filings increased in all but four states.
The most recent quarter marked the seventh consecutive quarter of rising foreclosure activity, RealtyTrac noted.
"What would normally alleviate the foreclosure situation in a normal market is people starting to buy properties again," said Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's vice president of marketing.
However, the unavailability of loans for people without perfect credit and a significant down payment is slowing the process, he said.
"It's a cycle that's going to be difficult to break, and we're certainly not at the breaking point just yet," Sharga added.
The surge in foreclosure filings also suggests that much-touted campaigns by lawmakers and the mortgage lending industry aimed at helping at-risk homeowners aren't paying off.
Hope Now, a Bush administration-organized mortgage industry group, said nearly 503,000 homeowners had received mortgage aid in the first quarter. Most of the aid was temporary, however.
Pennsylvania was a notable standout in the latest foreclosure data. The number of homes in the state to receive a foreclosure-related filing plunged 24.4 percent from a year earlier.
Sharga credited the decline to the state's foreclosure relief measures, noting that cities such as Philadelphia put in place a moratorium on all foreclosure auctions for April and implemented other measures aimed at helping slow foreclosures.
Nearly 157,000 properties were repossessed by lenders nationwide during the quarter, according to RealtyTrac.
The flood of foreclosed properties on the market has contributed to falling or stagnating home values, yet lenders have yet to implement heavy discounts on repossessed homes, Sharga said.
Nevada posted the worst foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 54 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice, nearly four times the national rate. The number of properties with a filing increased 137 percent over the same quarter last year but only rose 3 percent from the fourth quarter.
California had the most properties facing foreclosure at 169,831, an increase of 213 percent from a year earlier. It also posted the second-highest foreclosure rate in the country, with one in every 78 households receiving a foreclosure-related notice.
California metro areas accounted for six of the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest foreclosure rates in the first quarter, RealtyTrac said.
Many of the areas -- including Stockton, Riverside-San Bernardino, Fresno, Sacramento and Bakersfield -- are located in inland areas of the state where many first-time buyers overextend themselves financially to buy properties that have plunged in value since the market peak.
"California still hasn't hit bottom," Sharga said. "We have a lot of California homes that are in early stages of default that may not be salvageable because either there's no market or financing available, or both."
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