1.5 Million REO Properties for Sale in Six Months
July 17th, 2009 by 
Joseph Smith
About 1.53 million REO properties for sale were posted all over the country from January to June 2009.
According to market data, the 1.53 million homes were in some kind of foreclosure proceedings, either notices of defaults , auctions or bank repossessions, in the first six months of the year. The total number of bank repossession during the period was 386,000.
The data also showed that 1.91 million REO properties for sale filings were made during the period. This means that one out of 84 homeowners in the country received at least one foreclosure filing in the first six months of the year.
Industry experts said that recent figures only mean that the foreclosure crisis is far from over despite intensive efforts of the federal government and lending institutions to contain the problem.
Experts noted that in June alone, there was no indication that housing recovery is in progress. Last month’s number of REO properties for sale was the fourth consecutive month of increase. It was reported that over 336,000 foreclosure filings were posted, representing a 33 percent increase from the same month last year and 5 percent from May.
According to industry experts, unemployment has been identified as the cause of most foreclosures. They warned that the increasing number of homeowners whose properties are worth less than what they owe is posing a future risk to the housing market.
Recession is still being blamed as the major factor influencing foreclosure rates. As unemployment continues to increase, more and more jobless borrowers find themselves unable to make mortgage payments, leading to foreclosure. And the abundance of REO properties for the sale on the market put pressure on home prices, causing them to drop drastically.
And with the drop in home prices, homeowners find themselves underwater, which means owing more than the value of their properties. And this discourages some homeowners from repaying their loans, causing more foreclosures.
A market report said that about 25 percent of all delinquent loans were from homeowners who turned their backs on their properties because they have lost significant value.
Meanwhile, Nevada is still the hot bed of REO properties for sale with one out of 16 homes. The state is joined in the top 10 by California, Arizona, Utah, Florida, Idaho, Georgia, Colorado and Michigan and Ohio.
