Foreclosures and Repossessions and Short Sales, Oh My
For months I’ve been mentioning in my newsletters that we should expect to see an increase in foreclosures coming on the market and it looks like the month of May could be the turning point.
Foreclosures spike 9% in May
@CNNMoney June 14, 2012: 5:54 AM ET…More at Foreclosures spike 9% in May
This article covers some very important points. One being the increase seen in foreclosure filings in May after a longish period of reduced filings. But believe it or not, Florida wasn’t in the top three this time.
Georgia had the highest foreclosure rate, the first month since February 2006 that the state led all others. Arizona was second, Nevada third and California fourth….More at Foreclosures spike 9% in May
Another point that was covered in the article is something I’ve been seeing more and more in the past few months and that is how banks are now preferring to do short sales instead of foreclosures. There has been more and more news lately about how banks are working to speed up the short sale process and this is due to the fact that they now prefer to have a house sold as a short sale rather than a foreclosure.
Sales of pre-foreclosures aren’t as damaging to neighborhood home values as bank-owned sales can be, he said. And they’re also better for lenders and servicers, since they sell at a higher average price point than bank-owned homes,” Moore added….More at Foreclosures spike 9% in May
It’s unfortunate that it took so long for lenders to recognize that it is in everyone’s interest to process short sales faster but at least now they have realized this and are saying they are taking actions to make this happen. I think if they see a financial benefit for themselves they will probably follow through on it this time which will benefit both buyers and sellers in the long run and keep the momentum going in the market that we have been seeing.
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