Lakewood Real Estate Blog

RealtyTrac released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for September 2008 and Q3 2008 on Thursday, a timely disclosure considering lawmakers are sitting down with federal banking regulators on Capitol Hill today to discuss a national effort to help struggling homeowners and their lenders prevent foreclosure.

According to RealtyTrac, foreclosure filings – including default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions – were reported on 765,558 U.S. properties during the third quarter of 2008, up more than 3 percent from the second quarter and up 71 percent from the third quarter of 2007. The online marketer of foreclosure properties said that since August 2007, 851,000 homes have been repossessed by lenders.

Foreclosure filings actually decreased 12 percent in the month of September, but that drop was from an all-time record high in August. On an annual basis, RealtyTrac reported a 21 percent increase in foreclosures for September. All in all, 265,968 properties received a filing in September – that’s one in every 475 U.S. housing units. A total of 81,312 homes were repossessed during the one month period.

RealtyTrac’s CEO James J. Saccacio said that much of the 12 percent decrease in September can be attributed to changes in state laws and regulations surrounding the foreclosure process. The amendments have “temporarily slowed down the pace at which lenders are moving forward with foreclosures,” Saccacio said.

Specifically, Saccacio pointed to SB 1137 in California, which took effect in early September and requires lenders to make contact with borrowers at least 30 days before filing a Notice of Default (NOD). “In September we saw California NODs drop 51 percent from the previous month, and that drop had a significant impact on the national numbers given that California accounts for close to one-third of the nation’s foreclosure activity each month,” Saccacio explained.

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After a week of warm weather ( over 80 degrees) it is starting to feel like Autumn.  Today it will be 72 degrees.

·       On average, the warmest month is August.

·       The highest recorded temperature was 111°F in 1961.

·       On average, the coolest month is December.

·       The lowest recorded temperature was 25°F in 1963.

·       The most precipitation on average occurs in February.

Starting September 25, 2008, the federal income tax exemption for debt forgiven on a home loan now applies to state income taxes to a limited extent. Federal law provides a tax exemption for debt forgiveness on a loan incurred for acquiring, constructing, or substantially improving a principal residence up to $2 million if the debt is discharged from 2007 through 2012. Under the new California law, the maximum qualifying debt is only $800,000, not $2 million, and the maximum exclusion is $250,000. Moreover, the California law only applies to a debt discharged in 2007 or 2008. Senate Bill 1055.

Enacted on October 3, 2008, this historic federal legislation earmarks $700 billion for the Treasury Secretary to purchase troubled assets from financial institutions. The Secretary and other federal agencies are also charged with the task of mitigating foreclosures for mortgages and mortgage-back securities and encouraging loan modifications. Furthermore, this law strengthens the FHA-insured refinance loans for troubled mortgages under the HOPE for Homeowners program, including authority for the program’s board of directors to increase the maximum loan amount above 90% of the appraised value. This bill also extends the tax exemption for debt forgiveness on home loans under the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 from December 31, 2009 to December 31, 2012. 

Source: H.R. 1424.

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