Foreclosures Down 31% from Year Ago

CoreLogic indicated that completed foreclosures continued to reduce in September, falling 31 percent from a year ago. The analytics company reported the number of homes lost to foreclosure in September dropped to 57,000 nationwide. The decline is a steep drop from 83,000 in September 2011, and a decrease from the upwardly revised 59,000 in August.

In addition to the monthly and yearly declines, Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, said completed foreclosures are also down 50 percent since the peak month in September 2010 and are 22 percent less than the beginning of the year.

Before the housing crises, completed foreclosures were much lower than the sinking figures reported recently. Between 2000 and 2006, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month.

A look at the Northeast Los Angeles real estate market

Communities included: Echo Park, Silver Lake, Atwater, Highland Park, Glassell Park, Eagle Rock, Mt. Washington, Montecito Heights. Single Family: September/October

• Properties sold: 91 / 100
• Average days on market: 54 / 62
• Median price: $498,745 / $492,222
• Average cost per square foot: $360 / $337

Residential Income (2-4 units)

• Properties sold: 18 / 24
• Median price: $495,000 / $578,517

Condo:

• Properties sold: 17 / 15
• Median Price: $300,000 / $291,286

(Source: The MLS)

Also see our last market review for July/August 2012.

Case-Shiller: Home Prices at 2-Year High

U.S. home prices continued to increase in August as the Case Shiller 20-city Home Price Index increased 0.9 percent to its highest level since September 2010. The 20-city index is up 2.0 percent in the last year. At 145.87, the index was down 12.9 percent from where it was just before the 2008 presidential election. The index rose in 19 of the 20 cities, falling only in Seattle.

The 10-city index also rose 0.9 percent in August, increasing to 158.62, 1.3 percent ahead of August 2011 and the highest level since October 2010.

Home values play a significant role in the nation’s economy following the “wealth effect,” which holds that households spend more as perceived wealth increases. Increases in household net worth due to real estate (rather than stock) values have a greater impact on consumption, which is more than 70 percent of GDP.

The prices gains reported by Case-Shiller were led by a 2.3 percent gain in Detroit, a 1.8 percent increase in both Atlanta and Phoenix, 1.6 percent in Las Vegas, 1.3 percent in Los Angeles, 1.2 percent in Minneapolis, 1.1 percent in Washington, D.C., and 1.0 percent in both Cleveland and Miami. The year-over-year price improvement in Las Vegas was the first in that city—which had been a poster child for the housing boom—since December 2006.

Prices rose year-over-year in 17 of the 20 cities—compared with July when prices rose year-over-year in 16 cities—led by Phoenix, 18.8 percent, Minneapolis, 7.4 percent, Miami, 6.7 percent, Denver 5.5 percent and San Francisco, 5.3 percent.

Free help for first-time home buyers and homeowners in Los Angeles

Gil_Cedillo

Tomorrow - Saturday, November 17 - there is a FREE Northeast LA Home Expo And Housing Rescue Fair in Highland Park for all first-time homebuyers and homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

Sponsored by Assemblymember Gilbert Cedillo, it will also be announced that there will be $1.5 million in state funds available to families for down payment assistance for eligible households for first-time homebuyers.

You must pre-register for this event by calling 323-225-4545. Make sure you have all your paperwork upon arriving.

Northeast LA Home Expo and Housing Rescue Saturday, November 17, 2012 From 10:00 am to 2:00 pm Luther Burbank Middle School, 6460 N. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles (Highland Park), CA 90042

Home prices are up, sales slightly down

Typical of supply-and-demand, home sales in California have fallen 16.5% as prices have risen. With fewer properties on the market, including a reduced foreclosure and shadow inventory, prices are being driven up. But according to the LA Times the types of homes selling has also changed: Inventory of less expensive homes have dropped, due to competition between investors flipping houses and first-time home buyers.

Median prices in California are up 2.1% from August, at $287,000 (but 15.3% up from September 2011). Short sales are up in September, accounting for 27% of homes sold in the month.

Delinquency rates are up in September

Pastdue

Even though foreclosure inventory is down in September, a recent mortgage report reveals a surge in delinquency rates.

The numbers show delinquency rates in September at 7.72%, up from 7.4% in August, but still down 4.19% from last year. Meanwhile, foreclosure inventory is down 4.05% from the previous month, and 7.37% from last year. Florida, Mississippi, New Jersey, Nevada and Louisiana have the highest percentage of past due loans.