A report from The Real Deal. “New home foreclosure filings nationwide inched up in July, signaling the first year-over-year rise after three consecutive years of decreases. The report from Attom Data Solutions is an indication the U.S. housing market may be nearing the end of the cycle, and that home prices will begun to fall, experts say. In L.A., foreclosures jumped 20 percent last month to 1,190; and in Miami they rose 29 percent to 1,119. In both cities, home foreclosures increase for the third consecutive month.”
“A total of 96 out of 219 metropolitan areas analyzed in the report, or 44 percent, posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts in July. Daren Blomquist with Attom Data Solutions said ‘the widespread trend reflects a gradual loosening of lending over the past few years.’ That loosening, he added, ‘is naturally resulting in higher foreclosure numbers across a diverse set of housing markets.’”
“Houston, Detroit, Indianapolis and Jacksonville, Florida, saw the biggest rise in foreclosure filings. In those cities, foreclosure starts all increased more than 70 percent.”
The Orlando Sentinel in Florida. “Foreclosures on Metro Orlando homes are up 23 percent from July 2017, according to a real estate data analyst, though the numbers are still well below the peak of the recession, and local sales agents say there’s not much impact in the market yet. Last month’s 773 foreclosures included 376 starts – up 41 percent from July 2017, the third straight month foreclosure starts were on the rise.”
“‘It’s very small compared to the kind of numbers we had before,’ said Barbara Hampden, a Realtor with Re/Max 200 in Winter Park. ‘A 23 percent uptick seems like a lot, but … if it continues for another [three months], then maybe I’d say things are getting away from us.’”
“Among the possible reasons for the rise could be pent-up cases from a foreclosure moratorium imposed after Hurricane Irma, said Attom senior vice president Daren Blomquist. But other factors also exist. ‘Most of this increase is likely lenders catching up from the foreclosure moratorium, but we are also seeing similar trends in some other markets that did not have hurricane-induced foreclosure moratoriums,’ said Blomquist, ‘indicating there may be more widespread distress seeping back into the housing market.’”
“For bargain-seeking home shoppers wondering if the foreclosures will create buying opportunities, Hampden said that’s unlikely. ‘Just because a property goes into foreclosure doesn’t mean the value has gone down – it’s just that the owner can’t make the payments,’ she said. ‘The value may still be above water,’ or more than the owner owes on the home.”
“And it often takes an all-cash purchase to secure a foreclosure or a short sale amid heavy competition for values. ‘Otherwise you can be left standing on the sidelines with offers going nowhere,’ Hampden said.”
From Fox 4 Now in Florida. “Stunning new numbers released Tuesday morning show a huge increase in the number of foreclosures in Southwest Florida. Attom Data Solutions says the number of home owners who have started the foreclosure process in Cape Coral and Fort Myers, has gone up 59% since last July. The year over year number from June, was an increase of 64%.”
“The report says for the first time in 3 years, foreclosures are up nationwide and some of the biggest increases are in Southwest Florida. According to Trulia, more than 300 homes in the Cape and more than 400 homes in Fort Myers have started the foreclosure process. Attom says the government has loosened some Obama era lending standards for banks leading more people to take risks with their home loans, causing the spike in foreclosures.”
From Attom Data Solutions. “Twenty-one states posted a year-over-year increase in foreclosure starts in July, including Florida (up 35 percent); California (up 3 percent); Texas (up 7 percent); Illinois (up 7 percent); and Ohio (up 2 percent). Metro areas posting year-over-year increases in foreclosure starts in July included Los Angeles, California (up 20 percent); Houston, Texas (up 76 percent); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (up 10 percent); Miami, Florida (up 29 percent); and San Francisco, California (up 10 percent).”
“‘The increase in foreclosure starts is not just a one-month anomaly in many local markets given that July represented the third consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in 33 metro areas, including Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Detroit, San Diego and Austin,’ said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president with ATTOM Data Solutions. ‘Gradually loosening lending standards over the past few years have introduced a modicum of risk back into the housing market, and that additional risk is resulting in rising foreclosure starts in a diverse set of markets across the country.’”