Foreclosure homes in Detroit and in several local markets of Oakland County have posted record high totals during the past two years or so. For 2011 however, several areas, including Oakland County, are showing declining numbers of foreclosures and improving housing values. The number of residential foreclosures peaked last year in Oakland, reaching a total of 9,292. This year, realtors reported that foreclosure numbers have dropped by 11% so far.

As Michigan foreclosures decline in the county, the values of property start to gain some ground. Although values have dropped for the fifth year in a row, the pace of decline has slowed down. Assessed values of homes in the county declined by over 9% based on residential sales up to September 30, while taxable values dipped by 7.78%. Despite the continuous decline, housing market analysts stated that there are some positive developments, mainly the fact that the drop was not as huge as the 11.75% decline recorded during 2010.

They predict that distressed federal houses and bank foreclosures will diminish considerably by 2012 and county officials are also projecting that taxable values of homes will decline by just around 3% next year. Several local areas in the county even posted increases in taxable and assessed values, including Northville and Pleasant Ridge, analysts further reported.

With fewer homes foreclosure for sale in these areas, values in these markets have gone up; with Northville recording a 0.53% rise, while Pleasant Ridge posted an increase of 0.6%. Majority of the communities that posted declines in property values experienced slower drops during the 12-month period covered by the assessments. Oxford Township, officials reported, posted the smallest drop in property values among the 21 townships of Oakland County during the period, with taxable assessments dropping by only 3.17% last year.

Analysts however, have admitted that for the rest of 2011, the number of bank foreclosures and foreclosed federal houses will continue to be high in majority of the county's markets. They claimed that any real recovery will have to wait until next year as the current year is still expected to be a difficult one for the housing market.

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Foreclosed homes in Portland have remained high in the past few months, but areas like Benton and Linn are showing some signs of improvement as new foreclosure numbers declined in February 2011 compared with February 2010. Linn County had 38 default notices during the month, representing a drop of 38% compared with January of this year and declining by 54% when compared with year-ago levels. Meanwhile, Benton County had a total of 13 default notices during the same period, down by 41% from the previous month and dropping by 46% compared with February of last year.

Statewide, foreclosed homes in Oregon also dipped, marking the lowest foreclosure level for the region since September of 2008. For the whole region, foreclosure totals were down by 18% in February compared with January 2011 and fell by over 42% when compared with February 2010. February 2011 statistics showed that in all of the state's 15 counties, foreclosure numbers fell when compared with year-ago figures.

The biggest declines in bank foreclosures and foreclosed federal homes for sale were recorded in the counties of Linn and Curry, with both areas posting declines of over 50% in February 2011. Meanwhile, seven counties in Oregon recorded foreclosure decreases of over 40% during the same period. When it comes to notices of default or the first stage of foreclosure, 12 counties posted a decline, with eight of these 12 experiencing a drop of at least 20%.

Two counties are also set to have fewer home foreclosures for sale in the coming months as notices of default dropped by around 40%. Despite recording overall decreases in foreclosure numbers, the counties of Klamath, Douglas and Coos posted increases in default notices in February compared with January 2011. For local real estate analysts, these figures showed that the whole Oregon housing industry is starting to gain some strength, particularly when compared with nearby regions.

Although bank foreclosed properties and foreclosed federal homes for sale are projected to rise in the whole U.S. in the second half of 2011, local analysts are optimistic that Oregon will do better than most states. They stated that declining default notices in most markets will mean fewer households falling into foreclosure in the coming months.

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One of the Nashville foreclosures that has recently been purchased and scheduled to be made into an apartment property is the 4th and Monroe Condominiums located in Germantown in Nashville. Nashten LLC, the buyer of the foreclosed property, is reportedly planning to add to the numerous apartments already present in the city. The purchase price for the 39-unit building was reportedly $3 million.

According to registry records, the property became one of the many Tennessee foreclosures in January. Traditional Urban Concepts, the former owner, reportedly had a 2007 loan worth $9 million. No record was found showing that the condominium units were ever sold to buyers. So far, six of the condominium units have been rented and the rest will be converted into apartments with the monthly rental rate starting at $1,200.

Prior to the foreclosure, the building was advertised as a condominium with each unit having a starting rent of $223,500. The property was being built as the real estate industry was starting to fail, with foreclosed property and HUD federal property sales beginning to creep in to the market. The latest owner of the property reportedly revealed that around $200,000 will be used to develop the building into a rental project. They also added that eventually, it will end up as a condominium as originally planned.

Local brokers have stated that condominiums will sell better in the Germantown area in the future, particularly when foreclosures have eased down and the population of the area has increased. For now, however, most of the real estate projects are angling towards apartments instead of condos. Aside from the Monroe property, another condominium project being renovated into an apartment is the Rolling Mill Hill bought for $7 million.

Realtors believe that while foreclosed residential and HUD federal property sales continue to dominate the Nashville real estate market, more developers will look at apartments as a way to cope with the industry downturn.

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The Department of Treasury has recently announced that it will provide over $450 million to several areas of North Carolina which will benefit homeowners in various counties, including those who are in danger of losing their properties to Winston Salem foreclosure homes. Other counties that will benefit are Yadkin, Surry, Stokes, Davie and Forsyth.

According to local reports, the reason why these counties were selected to receive financial aid is because North Carolina foreclosures in these areas are higher than in other local areas of the state. In addition, unemployment rates in these counties are some of the highest in the whole state of North Carolina.

Consumer advocate groups and local officials have reported that they receive huge numbers of emails and phone calls from unemployed residents who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosed bank and federal property sales. Officials have added that with the Treasury funds, they will be able to offer interest-free loans to these troubled homeowners under the Foreclosure Prevention Program.

Under the program, owners of properties under foreclosure houses list who have lost their jobs will be provided with mortgage loan payments that will be given directly to their lenders while they look for a new job. Officials have reported that good credit and payment histories will go a long way towards helping homeowners qualify for the program.

State housing officials have estimated that around 21,000 borrowers and homeowners will benefit from the federal aid for as long as three years. Housing market experts have stated that the region was chosen because of the high rates of unemployment in several local areas of North Carolina. This problem has exacerbated the already troubled housing market which has been suffering from huge supplies of bank foreclosures and foreclosed federal property sales for the past two years.

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Foreclosure rates in the state have been some of the highest in the whole country, with almost all areas affected by the housing crisis, including Long Beach foreclosure investing. Although foreclosure numbers in the region remain high compared with other states, these numbers have been declining for the past four quarters.

The total number of California foreclosure properties is expected to decline further before the year ends as the April-June period recorded a considerable drop in default notices which totaled 70,051, according to statistics presented by MDA DataQuick. This represents a 13.6% decline compared with the first quarter of 2010 and a 43.8% decline when compared with the 2009 second quarter.

The recently concluded quarter records the lowest number of default notices since the 2007 second quarter. The first quarter of 2009 was the start of the foreclosure peak, when federal houses for sale and bank foreclosure numbers were at their highest and when notices of default reached a total of over 135,000.

According to real estate experts, sale of foreclosure properties by motivated sellers through short sales and pre foreclosures, along with lenders who are willing to negotiate alternatives to foreclosures, contributed to the decline in the total number of filings during the quarter. They also cited public policies and prices coming up from a bottomed out market as factors that led to more homeowners willing to sell before foreclosure is finalized.

Although mortgage loan defaults have moved from lower cost markets to more expensive communities in California, this trend seems to be leveling off according to real estate market analysts. The percentage of mortgage defaults in the whole state accounted for by areas with the lowest priced federal houses for sale and other dwellings has also declined to 40.1% in the second quarter from the first quarter's 40.9% and from the 44.9% recorded in the second quarter of 2009.

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The drop in the value of most properties in the area is largely attributed to the housing market crisis which affected almost all parts of the state. As an example, Fort Wayne foreclosure auctions continue to offer a huge number of foreclosed dwellings. This trend is the same in almost all areas of the state.

Howard County has not been spared from the impact of the escalating number of foreclosed homes being sold in home auctions in Indiana. According to local government officials, the gross value of the county is expected to decline to $4.8 billion in 2009 from $5 billion in 2008. Taxes for the 2009 assessment are scheduled for payment in 2010. For 2011, officials are expecting a $200 million decline, which still does not include tax exemptions for certain properties.

The decrease affects all types of homes, including private and federal properties. The average drop is estimated at 3.5% across the county, although some areas will have a higher or a lower drop depending on agricultural acreage. Base rate for agricultural land has risen by 47% within four years, officials have reported.

Howard County homeowners are scheduled to receive notices revealing the assessed values of their properties. They will be given until August 30 to appeal the assessment should they find any reason that an appeal is necessary. Local tax officials have stated that there will likely be a number of appeals, particularly as residents' pockets are being affected by the recession and the huge number of bank foreclosed homes for sale in the state.

Officials are readying themselves for potential appeals and have stated that such appeals should be filed within the given period which is before local tax offices formulate 2011 budgets and before tax rates for private and federal properties are set by the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance.

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Among the 50 states, California is the most populated, the third-largest in land area, the most diverse in geography and home to 8 of the country’s 50 largest cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose.

Compared to other countries, California ranks among the ten largest economies and among the 35 largest nations in population.

With its large population and economy, it is a given that real estate investments in the state have great prospects for high returns. There will always be buyers for completed foreclosures and pre foreclosures in California, particularly if these properties are purchased at low prices, fixed and then resold also at affordable prices.

In various cities of California, there are relatively high inventories of distressed properties. Buyers can look for federal foreclosures as these are usually priced lower than comparable bank owned homes and are offered to owner occupant buyers first before they are made available to investors.

For people interested in Bakersfield foreclosure investing, there are currently 6,659 units in residential foreclosure listings in the city, accounting for a staggering 79 percent of all homes available for sale. There are almost 1,800 nondistressed pre-owned homes for sale, and the sales price for median for all types of homes was $144,000 as of the most recent report. The average listing price is $251,218.

These numbers show that people planning to buy home foreclosures for sale in Bakersfield and in other cities of California can expect substantial discounts. In a recent report on foreclosure sales in the country for the period January to March, it was shown that the price discounts for federal foreclosures, distressed properties and bank owned homes in California averaged 26.7 percent compared to the average price of non-foreclosure homes.

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In the first quarter, the total number of FHA, Fannie and Freddie homes nationwide has shot up by a staggering 59 percent compared to the total in the first quarter last year and spiked by 22 percent from the previous quarter. If the number of VA, USDA and other government-owned homes is added, then the increase rate would have been much higher.

Similarly, the combined number of houses in default and homes in foreclosed listings in the Atlanta area has risen by 36 percent compared to the previous quarter and by 24 percent compared to total postings one year earlier.

In Fulton County, where Atlanta is the administrative seat, a total of 5,403 homes were put into foreclosure during the quarter. Of this number, a total of 1,950 were already REOs, comprising 36.1 percent of total filings.

With this percentage of REOs, opportunities for Atlanta foreclosure investing are still good.

Foreclosure postings also continued to surge statewide, as a total of 39,911 homes across Georgia were put into the foreclosure process in the first quarter. Of this number, 34.1 percent were repossessed by lenders and added to listings of foreclosed and cheap houses in Georgia.

Of the total REOs in Georgia, it is safe to assume that a significant percentage of it are federal homes, as the total count of FHA, Fannie and Freddie homes nationwide has already reached 209,500 in the first quarter of this year. Even with VA, USDA and other government-owned homes excluded, the REO number is already substantial.

In another report, it was stated that the share of FHA loans has spiked to around 30 percent of total home loans taken out nationwide in the final quarter of 2009 and that the default rate of FHA loans was still high at nearly 9 percent in March this year.

FHA loans and other government-backed mortgage loans are becoming popular to borrowers because of the increasing efforts of federal officials to facilitate home buying and help cut down the inventories of distressed properties in the market.

Low down payments, closing cost assistance and priorities at auctions are just three of the factors encouraging borrowers to use government-backed home loans. Ironically, they are also helping increase the number of federal homes entering the market.

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Similarly, White Plains city is set to receive over $900,000 as part of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). The funding for federal homes affordable programs was announced by Congresswoman Nita Lowey who said that the housing crisis is getting worst in the metropolitan area of New York.

She said that the cost of living in New York is so steep and affordable housing is difficult to find. She added that she hopes that the federal funding will give a boost on efforts of community organizations to help people who are in dire need of housing assistance.

The Housing Counseling Program of the HUD provides grants to support and enable the delivery of various housing counseling services to distressed homeowners at risk of foreclosures, homebuyers, low-income and moderate-income renters and homeless.

The main goal of the program is to promote financial literacy, preserve homeownership, improve affordable housing access and expand homeownership opportunities.

Among the grant recipients in the counties of Rockland and Westchester and the amount they will receive are the Human Development Services of Westchester Inc. for $42,724, Rockland Housing and Action Coalition for $33,984, Community Housing Innovations for $23,496 and Westchester Residential Opportunities Inc. for $39,228.

Veronica Raphael, director of the Westchester Residential Opportunities Inc., said that the fund will help the organization serve the growing number of people in dire need of housing assistance following the Obama Administration's launching of the Making Home Affordable Program.

On the other hand, White Plains will receive about $904,879 from HUD under the CDBG program. Industry experts said that the CDBG grants are useful in such a way that they provide support to various programs and activities. The funding will allow White Plains to invest on some projects without the need to raise costs for city taxpayers.

The CDBG funding is provided yearly to states, counties and cities nationwide to support development of urban communities through housing assistance and economic opportunities for low and moderate-income individuals and families.

The federal homes affordable program is geared towards foreclosure prevention and promotion of homeownership.