The Smaller Scale of the Foreclosure Crisis
December 8th, 2008 by 
Joseph Smith
Del Norte is a far-flung county in California and yet it still felt the shock of the mortgage disaster.
Local California foreclosures increased as homeowners struggle to get rid of their house or to refinance their loans. But foreclosure somewhat brought good news because home prices are now down where many can actually afford it. The sellers used to price all they want, but now they have to adapt to the lower foreclosure home price.
Century 21 owner Doris Stremberg have handled foreclosures and noticed that the housing atmosphere went along the economy. She said that lenders are now more open to refinance troubled foreclosures.
California foreclosure can be gauged by files auction notices. In Del Norte alone, 58 cases are now in the last stage of foreclosure compared to the 35 sale notices of last year.
There are also 26 known foreclosed homes and are for sale. With that there are 25 more in the pre-foreclosure stage.
Foreclosures in the whole country increased by 70 percent year and one-fourth of those are California foreclosures.
The 17.4 percent drop of single-family homes may be good for potential buyers, but not to the sellers. Fran Gatti of Re/Max explained that the Del Norte used to have the home median price of $285,000. But after 2 years of the economic downfall and accumulated foreclosure, homes are selling at less than $200,000 with median at $185,000. This demonstrates the simple rule of supply and demand. As more homes go into foreclosure and re-selling, with the fewer interested buyers, home prices may fall further.
With the piling up of impending foreclosures, homeowners must know who to ask for help. Mortgage lenders have set up new programs to aid the troubled preforeclosure-homeowners. There are reappraisals, refinancing of mortgage or loan term extension.
Visit www.hud.gov the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Web site or call 1-800-569-4287 or 1-800-225-5342.
