Another Foreclosure Surge (national)

Bank Repossessions Surge, More Foreclosures Hit the Market http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/06/11/bank-repossessions-surge-more-foreclosures-hit-the-market/ Expect more foreclosed properties to hit the market. The number of U.S. properties for which a foreclosure filing was received rose 18% in May from a year earlier, according to numbers released by RealtyTrac on Wednesday, as bank... [more]

Bank Repossessions Surge, More Foreclosures Hit the Market http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2009/06/11/bank-repossessions-surge-more-foreclosures-hit-the-market/ Expect more foreclosed properties to hit the market. The number of U.S. properties for which a foreclosure filing was received rose 18% in May from a year earlier, according to numbers released by RealtyTrac on Wednesday, as bank repossessions surged in several states outside the Sun Belt, which has so far borne the brunt of foreclosures. That filings fell 6% in May from April, the first month-on-month decrease since January, should offer little comfort. May’s numbers were the third highest monthly total since RealtyTrac’s count began in 2005, and the third straight month where filings exceeded 300,000. While the decline would have been bigger had it not been for the jump in bank repossessions in states like Michigan, Washington and New York, writes Dow Jones reporter Kerry Grace, RealtyTrac Chief Executive James J. Saccacio said that he expects such seizures to keep rising “in the coming months as foreclosure delays and moratoria implemented by various state laws come to an end.” That’s because lenders and servicers have resumed cracking down on delinquent borrowers after foreclosures were temporarily halted earlier this year, as the Obama administration rolled out efforts to modify loans and refinance borrowers. Banks repossessed about 65,000 homes in May, up from 64,000 in April, due to big increases in several states including Michigan, Arizona and Nevada, according to the Associated Press. After banks take over foreclosed homes, they usually put them up for sale at deep discounts, pulling down prices for other sellers. Nationwide, sales of foreclosures and other distressed properties made up about 45 percent of the market in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. The supply of new foreclosures had diminished in recent months as banks held off on taking back properties, but it’s starting to surge again, the AP quotes Gary Kent, a San Diego real estate broker who focuses on the foreclosure market, as saying: “Everything I’ve got that’s priced right is just flying off the shelves.” [less]