Boston: Foreclosure filings go through the roof

[UpInArms]

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=121116

Foreclosure filings in Massachusetts last year were up 34 percent through November, compared to the prior year, data show, and the net effect of the spike is that many first-time homeowners are hearing the words “gimme your shelter.”

The number of foreclosure filings through November was nearly 10,500, according to the ForeClosuresMass.com Web site. Essex County had a 49 percent increase over the same period in 2004, while Suffolk, Plymouth, Bristol and Barnstable counties all had increases of more than 42 percent.

In the last six months, the site states, Boston had 483 foreclosures.

One reason is that home prices in Massachusetts have appreciated 67 percent in the past five years, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. October’s median selling price for a single-family home in the state was $349,000 — up from about $210,000 in 2000.

...more...

and also:

Foreclosure activity up
California sees 27 percent increase, Texas 61 percent

Residential foreclosure activity across the nation spiked to its highest level of 2005 during December, an indication that rising interest rates are making an impact, an industry tracker said Thursday.

Last month the owners of 81,290 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure, up 13.5 percent from November, said Irvine-based RealtyTrac.

That's one new incident for every 1,422 U.S. households, the highest foreclosure rate reported last year, the company said.

<snip>

States showing the most distress last month were Texas, Ohio, Indiana, Nevada and Utah, the company said.

December's rate just outpaced October's so the year finished on a down note.

"These rising numbers to finish off the year may indicate that economic factors such as higher interest rates are making it harder for some homeowners to stay current on their mortgage payments," James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement. He was traveling and could not be reached for comment.

...more...

[SpiralHawk]

1. "All your homes are belong to us." - BushCo Cronies, Inc.

But on the bright side of things, the BushCo MisAdministration fully expects choco-rations to be increased 2 mg. per prole sometime over the next decade.

Have a nice day.

And always remember that Big BushCo loves you, and is keeping you safe from eViL.

[Chipper Chat]

3. and SOMA HOLIDAYS are coming.

Also sex-hormone chewing gum. Long live Bushtopha Mond.

[cliss]

2. Oh, you ain't seen nuthin yet.

Just wait till China starts unloading its massive $dollar$ holdings.....about $800 billion worth. I'm referring to an article somewhere in the LBN.

They predict that when China starts to Dump The Dollar, interest rates are going to move up....up.....up....up.

Watch these desperate homeowners with ARM's and refi's go ballistic. McMansion neighbourhoods will have every other house for sale. Soon, the "For Sale" signs will outnumber the rest of the houses.

(throws away crystal ball) You don't need a crystal ball for that.

[FlemingsGhost]

4. States showing the most distress last month were ... red.

At least them gays can't marry, eh?

[OldLeftieLawyer]

7. BUT...........

....... they'll be able to buy a REALLY NICE house. Maybe two.

heh heh heh

[area51]

5. Gosh, how can this be?

GW Hoover keeps saying that our economy is booming. </sarcasm>

[pinerow]

6. Sadly...with the price of homes spiraling and the new-fangled

mortgage instruments, we'll see more of the same...

[LostinVA]

8. That's why I got a 30-year fixed

5.5% FHA. Did it mean I maybe have a little smaller house than I wanted? Yeah. Is the house smaller than I NEED? No! All these people I know chuckled and said, "Get a zero-interest loan like us, stupid person." Now, these are people who plan to live in their houses for YEARS. I was like, I majored in history, I know what happened in 1929. Now,m they are all freaking out and trying to refinance, but are realizing they can't afford their homes....

[OldLeftieLawyer]

10. And wait until they see what happens

to their property taxes.

Over in Arlington, here in NoVa, there's a small cluster of Habitat For Humanity homes that were built about five years ago, right on Glebe Road (a major cross street), and the owners are now in danger of losing their homes because they cannot afford what the property taxes have become.

Talk about being screwed every which way .............

[adigal]

14. Because when tax cuts take $$$ out of the economy

then the burden of more services fall on the state, and when the states have no taxes, the burden rolls downhill to the local level, and local real estate taxes increase to pay for schools, roads, etc.

I try to tell the wingnuts who live near me who are screaming about real estate taxes that they should not vote for a fool who will cut taxes for the wealthiest among us.

[Delphinus]

15. You're kidding!

That's unbelievable! How could assessments rise on HfH homes by that much? Gooberment looking for a quick penny.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

16. Location, location, location.....

They're on a street that's not far from I-95, was once a black ghetto, and is now being gentrified.

Sound familiar?

When these houses were built, the gentrification hadn't begun. No one around here EVER would have guessed that development would take place in such an area, but, here it is - $500,000 townhouses right across the street from these HforH homes.

[LostinVA]

19. I know -- my house won't be reassessed for two years

And I'm hoping my county passes a law like a neighboring one did -- so that your home is FAIRLY taxed. Regardless, I made sure I had some elbow room in my house payment, just in case...

[Betty]

22. If housing prices tank

then I guess property taxes would be lower too... some silver lining.

[newblewtoo]

28. Valuation goes down but would

Tax rate go up? It could happen because most cities and towns are locked into long term contracts for goods and services. Someone has to feed the bulldog.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. Sometimes it pays to be conservative.

One's primary real estate is home first, investment second. I figure I can take risks with the 401K and sleep peacefully in a house financed with low, fixed rate mortgage.

[LostinVA]

18. Exactly my mindset

[kineneb]

20. sure does

Our home is our home, not an "investment." It and the car are our only assets (needed to qualify for medical assistance). When we had to sell out in the SF Bay Area, we took our money and ploughed it back into a modest lot and new manufactured home in the country. And even here the values have gone up. But I have started seeing the magic word "reduced" next to some real estate ads, so things have slowed down quite a bit. Yes, we are in rural CA, and a quarter acre plus 1300 sq.ft. mfg. home is considered to be worth $175K! I expect to see a lot of "for sale" signs stay up for quite a while...and homes are still being built on spec! I am willing to bet those builders are going to loose their shirts.

[we can do it]

25. Thats my theory....

Also pay even a little more on principle every month - owe no one if possible.

[wordpix]

26. i'm with you, when housing bubble bursts, I'll still have a home

[SW FL Dem]

27. Same here

We have a 5% 30 yr fixed rate mortgage. Rates were in the 7s when we bought the house, when rates went down, we refinanced but resisted the temptation of cashing out some of the equity in the house. Housing prices here have gone crazy, our house has more than doubled in value in 4 years. Most of our neighbors have done cash out refirs or have taken out huge equity loans and our local market is the most overpriced in the nation. Last summer, houses in my neighborhood sold in days because there were only a few on the market. Today there are 22 homes in my development for sale and they are sitting there for 90 days or longer. If interest rates go up much further, things aren't going to be pretty.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/29/real_estate/buying_selling/handicapping_housing_markets/index.htm

[pinerow]

13. However...

in some markets, San Jose, San Francisco, Boston etc, even the "small" homes are through the roof, literally.

[OldLeftieLawyer]

9. Don't forget to say "thank you"

to the new bankruptcy law.

Too many homeowners got themselves in 'way over their heads, and have been using credit cards to make it from month to month, covering those lovely "interest first, dammit" mortgages that looked so appealing at the time.

I watched ground being broken for a luxury condominium high-rise not far from where my studio is. This is a deal that was made two years ago, and, even as I type, the developer is losing his shirt. It's going to be a really beautiful place, and chances are I'll buy a couple of apartments there, as an investment. And I'll pay far less than even one might have cost six months ago.

Thanks, pResident Fuckface.

[Michigander4Dean]

12. Punishment for blue states, huh? | nt

[madmark]

17. wow its starting (the national residential real estate correction)

[leesa]

21. The economy is GREAT!

[hopeisaplace]

23. is Foreclosure your only option in US or do you have

Power-of-Sale as an option?

(there are different ramifications for each for the person involved
here in Canada - Power of Sale is the better option and the way it
usually goes)


edit: In case someone asks me what the differences are, I found this
link while googling that explains it nicely,

http://www.foreclosures.ca/realtors/foreclosure_proceedings/index.lasso

[cosmicone]

24. No power of sale in the US n/t

[Trajan]

29. Higher foreclosures = increased supply ....

Less buyers ... decreased demand .... increased supply and decreased demand = lower prices ....

WHere have I seen this before ? ... Oh: the late 80's, when the 'other' Bush ruled ....

[ckramer]

30. Condo sellers pull units off block as market cools

Many Boston condo owners appear to have pulled units off the sale block rather than sell for lower prices in a soft market, according to housing data and experts.

The inventory of condos sitting unsold remains high compared with previous years, according to data from the Listing Information Network of Boston.

Earlier this week, there were 1,977 condo units listed for sale in the Greater Boston area, down from a November peak of 3,186, LINK said.

Some of that decline can be attributed to a real-estate cycle in which homeowners traditionally don’t try to sell properties during the holidays.

But the decline in inventory is “so dramatic” that it indicates owners are pulling units off the market for other reasons, perhaps combined with some buyers returning to the market in hopes of finding deals, said Jeff Triglio, general manager of LINK.

http://business.bostonherald.com/realestateNews/view.bg?articleid=121131

======================

Are these owners still in a denial state? They are not willing to lower the price...and longer they wait, the more they will lose.

[HockeyMom]

33. I have seen what I thought was the same thing

I've been watching the area where we used to live. The week before Christmas, there were 228 houses listed on MLS (major record number). The week after New Year's there were 180. Do you mean to tell me 40 houses sold in the one week between CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR'S?

Oh, yeah. Prime time to buy a house. ROFL Me thinks these people couldn't get the prices they were asking and pulled them off the market.

[Neshanic]

31. Hmmmm...smells like overbuilding.

"Home sales and prices in metropolitan Phoenix climbed to new highs in 2005.

But 2006 isn't expected to be another record year for housing since the market has been steadily slowing during the past few months, with prices dipping again in December."

[ckramer]

32. I am sure this will not bring down the home price in the saftest

city in America:

Insurance agent shot dead near his office in Newton

Newton residents reacted with shock to the news that a man had been slain in what was recently selected as America's safest city for the second year in a row by Morgan Quitno Press, a Kansas-based research company. Schiller is the fifth homicide victim in Newton in the past decade, authorities said.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/01/14/insurance_agent_shot_dead_near_his_office_in_newton/

[radfringe]

34. so much for an "ownership" society.....

as much as bush*'s bush!t about an ownership society sounds good on the surface - once you dig a big deeper you have to wonder what part of society is really going be the new owners...

how many of you are still waiting for the "trickle down" to trickle down?