U.S. FORECLOSURES - HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS, AND THE BAD NEWS!
FORECLOSURES NATIONALLY DOWN 10% IN NOVEMBER . . . BUT UP 68% FROM NOVEMBER, 2006
Figures complied by RealtyTrac.com, and summarized in today's Chicago Tribune by syndicated reporter Alex Veiga, show mortgage foreclosures down 10% in November versus October, 2007 - from 224,451 filings in October, to 201,950 in November. The current figure, however, is up 68% from the November, 2006 foreclosure filing total of 120,334 across the country. Between August and September of this year, filings dropped 8%.
Although no one looks at the drop negatively, it still is an ominous sign for today's sluggish housing market, in Chicago, and elsewhere. In the U.S. one in 617 households filed for foreclosure this November. As foreclosure laws vary from state to state, they cover bank repossessions, auctions, and Notices of Default. Some properties have more than one filing, as many borrower's took immediate second mortgages against their homes to increase leverage, and reduce their required down payment.
Chicago is not in the Top 10 of cities with the highest foreclosure rate. That dubious "honor" went to Stockton, California, which had one foreclosure for every 99 households. Other California cities of Modesto, Merced, Riverside-San Bernardino, and Vallejo-Fairfield are in the Top 10, too, as well as Las Vegas, Nevada, Greeley, Colorado, and Fort Meyers-Cape Coral and Miami, Florida. The sole Midwestern entry in the Top 10 with the highest foreclosure rates was Detroit, Michigan, with one foreclosure filing for every 138 households.
Illinois was tenth on the statewide ranking, with one foreclosure for every 624 households.
Review the entire RealtyTrac.com survey and accompanying article here.
DEAN & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
