Archive for 'Texas'

More than 2,000 houses will be sold in Tarrant County’s foreclosed home auction in July, based on foreclosure records in the area.

Court-managed foreclosure auctions in Tarrant are held every first Tuesday of the month. For the July foreclosure auction, a total of 2,015 homes were listed, an increase of 66 percent from the total in July 2008.

For the first 7 months of this year, Tarrant County has already posted more than 11,000 foreclosures, an increase of more than 20 percent compared to the first 7 months last year.

Real estate analysts in the area said that most of the foreclosure postings are repeat postings as mortgage lenders struggle to cope with continued foreclosure actions.

Most lenders do not have enough personnel to process foreclosures and applications for loan modifications. They are also postponing foreclosure actions on many defaulting borrowers because of lack of personnel. Some banks have also not enhanced their bank systems to cope with large numbers of documents to process.

According to housing analysts, lenders are still digesting the provisions of the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable Program and still training their personnel on how to implement the program. Some are still crafting policies to guide customer service personnel or mediation representatives in their negotiations with distressed homeowners.

Meanwhile in Dallas County, a total of 2,579 homes were listed for the July foreclosed home auction, an increase of nearly 60 percent from the total in July 2008. In Collin County, 834 properties were listed, an increase of 67 percent compared to July last year. Denton County posted a total of 644 units for the July foreclosed home auction, representing an increase of nearly 70 percent from the July 2008 total.

All in all, the total number of properties listed for the July foreclosed home auction is 6,072, an increase of more than 60 percent from the July auction in 2008. The total for the 12 month period ended June this year has surpassed 35,000, representing a 20 percent rise from the prior 12-month period.

Housing analysts in Tarrant said that the number of housing units for the July foreclosure auction is the highest monthly total in the county’s foreclosure auction history.

However, some of the analysts explain that the July foreclosed home auction figure may not be representing real current data because many lenders are making foreclosure refilings as they are still improving their processes and systems to cope with surging foreclosure and loan modification activities.

Now, Texans have 25 more days to find remedies to save their houses from being added to foreclosure properties, with the passage of the Mortgage Foreclosure Deferment Act by the Texas Senate. Previously, homeowners in danger of foreclosure have only 20 days from the date of the foreclosure notice to solve their default problems before their houses are foreclosed.

The law, introduced by State Senator Craig Estes, would also give families a minimum of 14 days to move out of foreclosure properties.

Estes explained that the legislation was not meant to simply bail out defaulting homeowners, but to give more time to both lenders and borrowers to work out something that would lessen the number of foreclosure properties in the state.

Estes has observed that more and more newspaper headlines are presenting foreclosure properties in Texas. He said that the bill will not only help homeowners whose houses are in danger of becoming foreclosure properties, but will also help their neighbors, friends and communities that will be affected by blight and home value depreciation arising from large numbers of foreclosure properties.

The Mortgage Foreclosure Deferment Act was initially suggested by Attorney General Greg Abbott when he was launching his program to combat foreclosure prevention scams. Senator Estes heads the Texas Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

In the first quarter of this year, the number of Texas foreclosures increased to 25,259, including 34 notices of defaults; 14,564 notices of trustee sale and 10,661 REO homes. Its foreclosure rate increased by 14.87 from the first quarter of 2008 to 1 house in every 373 housing units.

In the month of February, Texas was eighth nationwide in total number of properties that received foreclosure filings, with 1 house in every 896 receiving a filing.

The Texas counties with the highest number of foreclosure properties in February were Harris County, with 2,133 filings; Tarrant County, with 1,518 filings; Bexar County, with 986 filings; Dallas County, 841 filings; and Travis County, with 427 filings.

To take advantage of the 25-day extension, Texas homeowners whose houses are in danger of becoming real estate properties should spend the time negotiating with their lenders to work out either loan modification or loan refinancing under President Obama’s Making Affordable program.

The number of homes being added to foreclosure listings in Texas is still increasing despite relief efforts by the Obama administration. According to Texas company Foreclosure Listing Service Inc., 18 of the 19 large counties being monitored increased in foreclosures listed for the April auction, in comparison to the number of properties in foreclosure listings for auctions in April 2008.

In Bexar County, 1,414 foreclosure filings were posted for the April auction. This marked a 65 percent rise from the 859 properties added to foreclosure listings in April 2008.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the number of homes added to foreclosure listings increased by 27 percent, compared to the April 2008 figures. In Austin, the number increased by a staggering 75 percent, compared to properties in foreclosure listings in April 2008.

George Roddy Sr., head of Foreclosure Listing, said the Obama administration’s foreclosure prevention program has not yet shown its effect in the 19 tracked Texas metropolitan areas.

Among the 19 counties monitored by FLS for their April 2008 and April 2009 foreclosures, Williamson County had the highest increase in number of properties added to foreclosure listings. The county, part of Austin’s Metropolitan Statistical Area, increased in number of foreclosure properties by an overwhelming 99 percent, in comparison to the 171 homes added to foreclosure listings in April 2008.

The second and third counties with the highest increase in number of homes added to foreclosure listings were Guadalupe and Comal, respectively. In Guadalupe, the 34 postings in April 2008 increased to 65 units added to foreclosure listings in April 2009. Comal increased by 79 percent in foreclosures, from 29 postings in April 2008 to 52 homes in April 2009.

The only bright point in the foreclosure study is the lack of increase in the county of Kaufman, located in North Texas. The foreclosure number of 122 units in Kaufman stayed the same in April 2008 and in April 2009.

In addition to the foreclosure prevention program for residential properties, the Obama administration also launched its foreclosure relief program for distressed commercial real estate properties. The commercial property program will buy $1 trillion mortgage-backed securities and other bad debts from mortgage lenders to help these financial corporations clear their books. The relief program for homeowners is also expected to help these mortgage lenders, as federal assistance will enable lenders to cover their losses from loan modifications and loan refinancings.

New statistics are showing that there has been a 7 increase in foreclosures compared with last year in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. However, in excess of 3,700 homes are set to go through foreclosure sales later in September according to a recently published report.

Collin County has seen the highest rise, having witnessed an increase of 38 in comparison to last year’s numbers when it comes to be forced sales. In Tarrant and Dallas Counties, total foreclosures remained unchanged. The period that is to end with foreclosure-auctions in September is to be the second continuous quarter to see a decline in the total number of postings for the area.

This year has seen 37,572 homes that have posted for foreclosure; this is an increase of 20 when in comparison to the first three quarters of 2007. Around 50 to 60 of the properties that are part of foreclosure postings end up in a forced sale. Some of these cases see the borrower reaching new agreements with regards to the debt.

In the Dallas-Fort worth area, signs of foreclosures are appearing in front of a large number of houses. This does offer a good sign to prospective buyers searching for good deals, but it is also adversely affecting values of homes generally.

Basically, when homes in foreclosure sell at discounted prices, prices of properties nearby are also affected. It is therefore not surprising that the large numbers of foreclosures of homes in North Texas are having an effect on the entire housing sector of the area. The Dallas-Fort Worth area’s foreclosure volume is almost as high as anywhere else in the country.

More than eighteen thousand homes were foreclosed upon by lenders in the Dallas-Fort Worth according to a report released by an individual source. The same period saw around 38,000 single family houses being listed for sale with multiple listing services. At the given moment, approximately 6 of the listings with MLS’s in North Texas are known to be former foreclosures. Neither of these numbers includes all repossessed homes. Dallas foreclosure homes need some help, and need it fast.

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Many people involved in Houston foreclosure homes in Harris County are now hoping to receive help from an unexpected quarter. With the ongoing crisis in the housing sector, many home-owners are expecting help from St. Joseph. A superstition or tradition, as different people might view it, which has been practiced for a very long time, is now being used by home-owners unable to sell their homes. They are burying statues of St. Joseph to try and sell homes.

A store that deals in religious goods, Christian Treasures in Northwest Harris County, said that there has been an unprecedented increase in the sales of these statues ever since the mortgage crisis began. Richard Gillespie, the store owner, said that with the onset of the mortgage crisis, home-owners are being hopeful and buying these statues, in what seems to be a final effort.
A professional stager of homes, Tom Scanlon, said that three of his homes have been sold using these statues, and that he encourages his clients to make use of them too.

Most people do agree that amidst the ongoing economic crisis, a lot has to do with keeping hope. It’s not just human beings who are affected by the foreclosure problem. According to a recent report, statistics show that 63 of households in the country have pets. With an increasing number of foreclosures, it is estimated that about 2-4 million people stand to lose their homes. This would put around 1.25 million pets at risk of being abandoned.

While home-owners face foreclosure, being able to find alternate housing for pets is necessary to eliminate the suffering the animals face. No Paws Left Behind, a Houston based non-profit organisation is working on making home-owners facing foreclosure aware of the options they might have. It specializes in providing home-owners, neighbours as well as representatives with resources for finding alternate housing for pets that have been abandoned.

Cheryl Lang, the president and founder of No Paws Left Behind, is an expert at fielding queries about steps home-owners with pets facing foreclosure should follow. Pets in Houston foreclosure homes are now hopeful.

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In the rising tide of foreclosure, the good news of homeowners in Dallas and other parts of North Texas is that there is a slowdown in the number of Dallas foreclosure homes. However, at the same time, analysts who have been tracking various home loan/mortgage defaults believe that people should not go by these temporary figures as the situation can change for the worse in the coming months. This is just an assumption!

June 2008 has been a fairly good month for Dallas homeowners as there has only been a 3 increase in foreclosure listings and there are less the Dallas bank owned homes up for sale. This rise is lesser than what Dallas has seen in the entire period of last year. George Roddy, president of Foreclosure Listing Service said that this is a welcome change but at the same time, he underlined his fear stating that it might just go up in the coming months.

In the first 6 months since January to June of 2008, the Dallas foreclosure listings showed an increase of 20 as in comparison to 2007. According to some of the industry experts, around 25,000 homes have been schedules for foreclosure in the coming months of 2008. Even if the statistics of June are taken into consideration then it can be seen that around 3,800 homes have gone for forced sale, which accounts for a 13 increase from May 2008. There are many more Dallas cheap homes that will be put up for auction in July. Experts believe that Collin County in Dallas Area is the worst hit as the foreclosure postings have gone up by 17 as compared to June 2007. On the other hand, Tarrant County has seen a dip of 1 in foreclosures while the rate of Dallas County foreclosure homes has been quite flat since last year.

Therefore, the fact of the matter is that there could be another increase in the rate or there could be many more dips but then that is for time to tell!

San Antonio has held on well during the foreclosure crisis that has swept the United States, and even though 2008 has seen an uptick in its foreclosure market, San Antonio Foreclosed Homes could be one of the best investments you could make in foreclosures these days.

San Antonio is not flooded with foreclosed homes for sale like many other cities around the nation. However, it has seen 1,400 foreclosures already occur during the first quarter of 2008, which is a healthy number when compared with other cities nationwide, but San Antonio foreclosure listings in no way compare with some of the other leading metropolitan areas.

One of the reason for this is that San Antonio is one of the easiest and best places in the country to sell a home. In fact, Forbes just ranked the area s the 6th best location in the country for home sales. This partially account for the lack of San Antonio Foreclosed Homes, since homeowners are often able to sell off their property before the scheduled sale to avoid a foreclosure.

This is also what makes San Antonio Foreclosed Homes so good for investing. Since the local economy is attracting businesses and new residents, it can be a good place to buy a foreclosure for cheap and then turn around and sell it for a profit. Few other cities offer this luxury in today’s market. This is an opportunity definitely worth looking into, even if prices on these discount homes may not be as low as they are in other areas that have been ravaged by the repo homes surge.

The market for Houston Foreclosed Homes appears to not be rising as rapidly as the rest of the country, but it is still a market worth watching and investing in.

Texas foreclosed homes, once one of the biggest inventories of foreclosed homes for sale in the country, have dropped, are currently 16% lower in inventory than they were one year ago in March of 2007, but this might not remain the case for long, as evidenced by the fact that the amount of new foreclosures rose 5% from February to March this year.

Houston Foreclosed Homes have remained remarkably low, especially compared with other Texas cities such as Dallas, but there are signs that this simply can’t continue. One of the biggest is that over the last seven months, home sales in the city have diminished steadily by roughly 16%. Looking even closer, the statistics show that luxury home sales have diminished by 17% from February of 2008 to March of 2008, indicating that it is harder to sell a home in the city, especially a high priced one.

With the upcoming recession, things could get complicated. Many Houston homes are under mortgage bought during the real estate boom that peaked roughly 3 or 4 years ago. Now that home values have fallen drastically, many of these could end up as Houston foreclosure listings, as homeowners find it increasingly difficult to keep up with their mortgage payments and are at the same time unable to sell their home for anywhere near what they paid for it in a market with low demand.

Houston Foreclosed Homes may be low now, but they should pick up as the year progresses. They can be good investments however, as the fact the market has held out this long is a testament to the local economy’s strength.

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With Texas foreclosures rising to near record highs in many parts of the state, foreclosure auctions in the area have become a big draw for homebuyers and real estate investors. Looking to capitalize on the chance to buy Texas foreclosure homes for discount prices, many buyers are attending auctions, buying bank foreclosures and trying to invest in these lucrative chances for real estate profits.

Statistics show that North Texas foreclosure real estate saw a record breaking year, with Dallas foreclosures during 2007 logging in at over 43,000 homes entering some stage of the foreclosure process. Much of this is attributed to overdevelopment, as well as the presence of adjustable rate mortgages, which homeowners and investors find difficult to keep up with due to fluctuating monthly payments.

After the housing market collapsed, home values began to drop, and in combination with the effects of a flooded market, homeowners and investors found it nearly impossible to off their properties for anywhere near what they paid for them. This drove many homes into foreclosure home auctions.

However, while the property foreclosure trend was predominant mostly in urban areas, it is now spreading to Texas suburbs as well. Houston foreclosures, San Antonio foreclosures and Austin foreclosures are now also extending to the suburbs, where homes owned by investors looking to flip them during the housing boom have simply been sitting on the market for too long. After a while, the mortgage payments become so steep that it’s actually cheaper for investors to let them go into foreclosure.

With so many home foreclosures available in the Texas area, it’s a great place for investors to find huge savings. Dropping home values only contribute to the flooded market of cheap properties, and this extends to foreclosures for sale as well. Finding foreclosure listings for properties in Texas can be simple, whether you’re looking for El Paso foreclosure, Fort Worth foreclosures or Odessa foreclosures.

Although competition for foreclosed property at auction can sometimes be fierce, there is an abundance of property available through bank foreclosures and government foreclosures. Whenever a home is not sold at auction, it is awarded back to the lender, who then looks to sell the property themselves.

Buying discount homes and REO property in Texas is a great way to cash in on a state with growing cities and a thriving economy.

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Encouraging trends seem to be emerging from Dallas, Texas, with a drop in Dallas foreclosures activity over the last 3-6 months. While Dallas metropolitan area reported 3,612 foreclosures in May 2007, this figure is 3% lower from the previous month. As per RealtyTrac® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, this decrease in Dallas foreclosure activity has pushed it down from its top spot among five of America’s largest metropolitan areas.

The Dallas foreclosure rate is one foreclosure filing per 369 households, which is 1.8 times the nation’s average foreclosure rate. Dallas foreclosures are higher than in Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia, though it is lower than Los Angeles’ foreclosure rate.

With 731 foreclosures filed in May, Collin County has gained the dubious reputation of being the metropolitan area’s second highest in foreclosure rate. This is an increase of 31% from previous month, making the ratio 1 per every 267 households, which is 4th highest amongst metropolitan areas and 2.5 times the country’s average. Additionally, foreclosure filings in Denton County reached 341 for the month, claiming the 3rd stop on the highest country total for metropolitan area.

Foreclosures in Dallas metropolitan area, which is made up of 8 counties including Kaufman County have seen top rankings across the board. Kaufman County scored over Rockwall County in the race to claim the top spot for highest number of foreclosures in Dallas metro area. There were 143 foreclosure filings, a whopping 91% increase from previous month and there was one foreclosure reported for every 183 households and 3.6 times the country’s average.

Interestingly though, Texas foreclosures saw a decline of 16%. The state reported a total of 9,653 foreclosures which is almost 33% lower than that reported in the same month, last year. This decline has helped Texas reach the fourth position on the highest foreclosures list and behind California, Florida, and Ohio. There was one foreclosure per 834 households that is still below the nation’s average.

The Dallas foreclosure rate is still rather high despite the current downward trend in the foreclosure activity. Moreover, Dallas has remained insulated to the dramatic increase in home rates that other real estate markets have witnessed in the last few years, making property more affordable. Furthermore, Dallas offers healthy employment opportunities and enjoys a low unemployment rate that is also below the nation’s average. Based on these factors, experts conclude that Dallas foreclosures will remain steady, if not decreasing further for the remainder of 2007.