Dawn Rivera’s Fremont & East Bay Real Estate Blog

RealtyTrac®, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, has released its Midyear 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 1,905,723 foreclosure filings – default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions – were reported on 1,528,364 U.S. properties in the first six months of 2009, a 9 percent increase in total properties from the previous six months and a nearly 15 percent increase in total properties from the first six months of 2008. The report also shows that 1.19 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 84) received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of the year.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 336,173 U.S. properties in June, the fourth straight monthly total exceeding 300,000 and helping to boost the second quarter total to the highest quarterly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in the first quarter of 2005. Foreclosure filings were reported on 889,829 U.S. properties in the second quarter, an increase of nearly 11 percent from the previous quarter and a 20 percent increase from the second quarter of 2008.

“In spite of the industry-wide moratorium earlier this year, along with local, state and national legislative action and increased levels of loan modification activity, foreclosure activity continues to increase to record levels,” noted James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

“Unemployment-related foreclosures account for much of this increased activity, and the high number of
borrowers who find themselves owing more on their mortgages than their homes’ are now worth represent
a potentially significant future risk. Stemming the tide of foreclosures is a critical component to stabilizing the housing market, so it is imperative that the lending industry and the government work in tandem to find new approaches to address this issue.”

Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates
More than 6 percent of Nevada housing units (one in 16) received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of 2009, giving it the nation’s highest foreclosure rate during the six-month period. A total of 68,708 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing from January to June, an increase of 23 percent from the previous six months and an increase of 61 percent from the first half of 2008.

Arizona registered the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate in the first half of 2009, with 3.37 percent of its housing units (one in 30) receiving at least one foreclosure filing, and Florida registered the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, with 3.08 percent of its housing units (one in 33) receiving at least one foreclosure filing. Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the nation’s 10 highest were California (2.94 percent), Utah (1.46 percent), Georgia (1.42 percent), Michigan (1.34 percent), Illinois (1.31 percent), Idaho (1.26 percent) and Colorado (1.25 percent).

California, Florida, Arizona post highest foreclosure totals
A total of 391,611 California properties received a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2009, the nation’s highest total and 2.94 percent of the state’s housing units (one in 34) – the nation’s fourth highest state foreclosure rate. California foreclosure activity in the first half of 2009 increased nearly 14 percent from the previous six months and increased nearly 15 percent from the first half of 2008.

With 268,064 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in the first six months of 2009, Florida documented the second highest state total. Florida foreclosure activity in the first half of 2009 increased 7 percent from the previous six months and was up nearly 42 percent from the first half of 2008.

Arizona’s 89,799 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in the first six months of 2009 was the third highest state total. Arizona foreclosure activity in the first half of 2009 increased 13 percent from the previous six months and was up nearly 55 percent from the first half of 2008.Other states with totals among the 10 highest in the country were Illinois (68,932), Nevada (68,708), Michigan (60,786), Ohio (58,937), Georgia (56,391), Texas (49,144) and Virginia (28,368).

Report methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing reported during the first half of the year at the state and national level. Data is also available at the individual county level. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population.

RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default – Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction – Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS) and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). If more than one foreclosure document is filed against a property during six-month period, only the most recent filing is counted in the report.

The current economic crisis is having a lasting impact on many older Americans, forcing them to make difficult financial decision because they have so little time and resources available to them to recover from losses in the housing and financial markets.

A new survey from Golden Gateway Financial shows that these losses are causing many seniors to consider retiring at a later age than originally planned. The survey asked Americans aged 62-and-older how the economic crisis was affecting their retirement plans. Not surprisingly, the number of respondents planning to retire after age 70 because of the economic crisis increased substantially from those planning to retire at that age before the crisis.

“Even though some economists are beginning to grow optimistic, older Americans continue to feel real pain and must make hard trade offs and decisions,” said Eric Bachman, founder and CEO of Golden Gateway Financial. “This is the worst possible time for the 40 percent of seniors now considering delaying retirement to be searching for jobs. It’s unfortunate that the hopes and dreams of these retirees are being put on hold.”

Overall, the survey found that many seniors understand exactly how the economy is affecting their retirement finances and plans. It also illustrates the concern that many seniors have about the prospects for their continued ability to sustain retirement. Additional observations include:

- Before the economic crisis, 67 percent of respondents planned to retire before age 70
- Now, the number of seniors planning to retire by age 70 dropped to 40 percent
- Before the economic crisis, 30 percent of those surveyed planned to retire after age 70
- Now, almost 50 percent of seniors plan to retire after age 70
- More than 40 percent of seniors polled said the current economy has had some kind of negative affect on their ability to retire
- More than 50 percent of respondents said they are concerned that their overall net worth may no longer be enough to sustain their retirement
- 86 percent of seniors said they had a reasonable understanding of their net worth, and 50 percent said that net worth had declined by between 10 and 30 percent

The independent online survey, conducted with United Sample, Inc.  www.unitedsample.com) in partnership with Golden Gateway Financial, polled a nationwide representative sample of more than 500 senior citizens aged 62 or older. A complete list of questions and percentage answers are available at the Golden Gateway Financial website or by contacting the company.