How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

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  1

  jfree85

  06/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

  I don't think we're getting the full story about a lot of the numbers out there. Foreclosures, unemployment -- Chicago Public Radio had an interesting segment this morning about how the homeless numbers aren't being fully counted because people "doubling up" with family aren't officially counted as homeless.
  

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  2

  ja1515

  06/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

  For positive action that will help the economy and the housing market we need a clear picture of where we are. Without accurate numbers, how can we know if anything will or is working?

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  3

  Ilyce Glink

  06/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

  @Jfree85 There is a real concern that we're undercounting the number of employed. I had a call on my radio show yesterday from someone who lost her full-time job and is at a new job making a lot less, and not working full time. She sees herself as underemployed and is wondering how she's going to make her mortgage payments.
  
  Accurate numbers are crucial to figuring out what's going on with the housing market mess. I hope we get those soon.
  
  Rick Sharga, of RealtyTrac, just sent me an email noting that the problem isn't the collection of data, per se, but the accessibility of the information. A lot of it just isn't available online:
  
  Most states do a reasonably good job of collecting the information; very few do a very good job of posting the data or making it easily available. California, Florida, Arizona and Washington State come to mind as states moving more information online, and offering fairly detailed information. I?m sure there are others, but those four are top-of-mind.
  
  This reminds me of how few counties originally posted information about property taxes and other house data online. So many technology companies were clamoring for the information, but it took awhile for it to happen. Now, most counties make this information available online and charge technology and real estate companies a fee to upload it to their databases. But this is how we distribute information these days.

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  Ilyce Glink

  06/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

  @ja1515 We won't. Information is key to figuring out how to solve the incredibly pressing problems we have in the U.S. If you don't know the numbers, you risk spending money where you don't have to, and not providing enough cash elsewhere.
  
  Thanks for your comments.

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  5

  Ilyce Glink

  06/22/09 | Report as spam

  RE: How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

  Here's a little more of an explanation on the discrepancy between RealtyTrac's numbers and the Georgia Foreclosure numbers counted in the AJC from Rick Sharga:
  
  Both numbers are actually correct, but are counting different attributes. We publish a report every month of *new* foreclosure activity on individual households. The numbers the AJC cites include both new actions and actions that were previously scheduled but postponed.
  
  We would be double-counting the homes in question if we cited them in our reports every time they were re-scheduled for an auction, which would dramatically overstate the problem?which is already bad enough.
  
  The AJC was focusing on our monthly reports; if we?d compared the active records in our foreclosure database (which includes new filings as well as active inventory) the numbers probably would have been closer.>>

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  6

  bourst

  07/06/09 | Report as spam

  RE: How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

  I signed up for RealtyTrac a couple of months ago and I found that many of the homes listed there are not really for sale at all. My real estate agent explained that when a homeowner misses 3 payments, it becomes a matter of public record. RealtyTrac merely is pulling its data from these records. There's a lot that must happen between when a homeowner misses 3 payments vs when the house becomes foreclosed and available for sale.
  When I discovered this I canceled my RealtyTrac membership. Based on what my agent told me and, in fact, on my own experiences, it appears to me that RealyTrac is OVER reporting.
  If I'm missing something here then please correct me.

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  7

  Ilyce Glink

  07/07/09 | Report as spam

  RE: How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

  @Bourst:
  
  Thanks for your comment. I'll send it back to Rick Sharga and post his response here.
  
  Ilyce

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  8

  Ilyce Glink

  07/27/09 | Report as spam

  RE: How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

  Here's Rick Sharga's response:
  
  "It?s important for anyone looking to purchase a foreclosure property to understand that just because a property is in foreclosure doesn?t mean it?s on the market. And that just because a loan is 90 days past due doesn?t ?automatically? put it into foreclosure, much less list it in the public record. That public record notice only takes place when the lender sends out the first legal notice that a borrower is in default on a loan. Typically, this takes place no sooner than 90 days, but in today?s market, the delinquency period is often much longer.
  
  "RealtyTrac publishes the largest database of homes in foreclosure and homes that have already been repossessed by the banks, but there?s no guarantee that all of these homes are yet listed for sale. In fact, in the most recent analysis we did (November, 2008), only 30% of all the bank-owned properties and 18% of the homes in foreclosure were actually listed for sale.
  
  "One of the newer features on the site allows subscribers to sort properties by whether or not they?re listed (there?s a little for sale sign icon next to these properties); we?ve also set up a tab in the bank-owned section that lists REO properties for sale, and have a separate section for resale properties. So there are plenty of ways for a subscriber to find homes listed on the MLS.
  
  "For many of our subscribers, however ? including Realtors, home buyers and investors ? the not-yet-listed properties are precisely what they?re looking for: homes not on the market where the seller (either a bank or a distressed homeowner) may be willing to negotiate a short sale or deeper discount in order to move the property more quickly or with less marketing costs.
  
  "Interested buyers might also look at the properties scheduled for the foreclosure auction. These properties (in the Auction section of RealtyTrac) are all slated to be auctioned off, generally at the County Courthouse, as the final stage of the foreclosure process. This is NOT an area we recommend for inexperienced buyers or investors, though, as it is the riskiest way to buy a foreclosure property, and cash financing is required."

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  9

  Ilyce Glink

  07/27/09 | Report as spam

  RE: How Many Foreclosures Are On Your Block? You Might Be Shocked.

  Rick, thanks for the lengthy response.