Bay Area Real Estate Trends

Selling foreclosures in bulk to institutions is an example of crony capitalism at it’s worst. Keep in mind that our problem isn’t that selling homes locally and individually doesn’t work, it’s that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the FHA, and TBTF banks simply haven’t been doing it. Diana Olick reports: The Obama administration, in conjunction with federal [...]

U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for the first quarter of 2011, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 681,153 U.S. properties in the first quarter, a 15 percent decrease from the previous quarter and a 27 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010.

The one thing that remains clear is that while the process has slowed, there remains no consensus on a viable solution other than foreclosure to eliminate the excess mortgage debt that has left millions underwater and continues to hinder the broader economy.

s of the end of February, foreclosure inventory levels stand at more than 30 times monthly foreclosure sales volume, indicating this backlog will continue for quite some time. Ultimately, these foreclosures will most likely reenter the market as REO properties, putting even more downward pressure on U.S. home values.

Nevada has a great many empty homes, and after my experiences flipping occupied properties, I will be happily focused on the empty ones.

“Foreclosure filings dropped to low levels not seen in quite awhile,” says Sean O’Toole, CEO and Founder of ForeclosureRadar.com. “We will likely see more sluggish foreclosure activity in the months ahead while lenders continue to work through lingering concerns over foreclosure documentation and deal with process changes.”