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Written by admin on February 13th, 2010

Foreclosures Rise In December Disappointing Everyone

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Looking at the numbers of foreclosures for 2009 is sobering. What is even more disturbing is that they had peaked in July of 2009 and then began to decline only to rise again in December. In fact the number of foreclosures rose by 14 percent in December 2009 compared to November 2009.

For every forty-five homes in the US there is one in foreclosure. For 2009 there were 2.8 million homes that experienced foreclosure filings. These foreclosures have occurred despite government’s attempt to help people who could afford their homes under normal conditions. The federal government’s loan modification program has approved 700,000 mortgage restructurings that lowered monthly mortgage payments. Without this program there would easily have been over 3 million foreclosures in 2009.

There are several states that have been hit worse than others. California, Florida, Arizona, Michigan and Illinois are the top five states reporting foreclosure filings. California had the most number of foreclosure filings with 632,573 properties. Nevada is sixth on the list and has seen a 44.3 % increase in foreclosure filings from 2008 to 2009.

After four months of falling total numbers of foreclosures it was disheartening for many to discover the numbers increase in December. The month that had the highest number in 2009 was July with 361,000 foreclosure filings. Even California was experiencing falling foreclosures for months only to see them increase again in December.

Sadly there are predictions that report another 2.4 million homes could go into foreclosure in 2010 or be lost through other actions. Some houses are lost through auction. In some cases the homeowners turn the house back to the mortgage company before the foreclosure is filed. To those losing their homes it really doesn’t matter at the time how the house is lost.

The continuing tide of foreclosures is not expected to abate any time soon. With unemployment in the United States at 10 percent it should not be surprising there are still many families who will lose their homes. Though economic signs indicate an economy on the mend, many consumers will not benefit immediately. Businesses have indicated they are in no hurry to begin adding jobs after shedding 7.2 million jobs over the last two years.

There is a possibility that more banks will begin accepting short sales. A short sale is when a transaction that lets the house sell for an amount under the mortgage balance. This kind of sale does not get reported as a foreclosure filing but the net result is the same for the owner – the house is lost. On the other hand there will not be a foreclosure to explain on a credit report.

Consumers still facing foreclosure should talk to the lender holding the mortgage to determine if there are any programs they might qualify for through the lender or the government. Though there is never a guarantee the homeowner will be able to keep the house, there might be a way to structure a sale so there is less impact on the consumer’s credit. The one thing a homeowner facing foreclosure should not do is ignore the problem. It is always better to go through an orderly process rather than wait for eviction and find there is no place to go.

Related posts:

1. December Consumer Wages and Credit Figures Show Little Progress
2. Not All Foreclosures Are Due to Economy
3. Mortgage Companies Helping Families Walk From Mortgage Debt
4. Predatory Lending Leads to Foreclosures
5. House Bargains Getting Harder to Find