The predicted number of repo homes for sale across North Carolina for the year 2009 is 46,600 units, based on projections made by the Center for Responsible Lending.

Now, based on the current pace of foreclosure filings, North Carolina may reach and even surpass the center’s foreclosure projections. The Administrative Office of the Courts said that about 33,350 foreclosure cases were filed in court in the first half of this year. In 2008, total foreclosure filings in North Carolina reached nearly 54,000, marking annual increases in foreclosures since 2005.

In Alamance County, approximately 503 foreclosure cases were filed in the same 6-month period. Hunt Johnson, clerk of court of the Alamance County Superior Court, said that most foreclosure filings go on to foreclosure sales. He added he is surprised at the relatively high number of foreclosures in the county. He said the court has held 554 foreclosure hearings since he took over as clerk of court.

Johnson explained that his responsibility was to determine if the foreclosure filings meet all foreclosure law requirements. He evaluates bank notices, deeds of trust and other documents. At the hearing, he decides whether the foreclosure sale will proceed.

In addition, Johnson also explained that most foreclosure filings go on to foreclosure sales if the defaulting homeowners do not show up during the hearing. He has observed that most foreclosure cases filed for underwater mortgages are no longer challenged by the homeowners.

Jeffrey Bunda, a lawyer for Charlotte-based law firm Shapiro and Ingle LLP, said lenders now are more willing to work defaulting loans with homeowners. He said he has acted as substitute trustee in foreclosure cases for many years. He added that banks have too many foreclosure properties so they want to take the risk of working out loan modifications.

In November last year, North Carolina established the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project, which delayed foreclosure filings for cases determined by the Commissioners of Banks as workable under the federal foreclosure program. The project also required banks or mortgage servicers to notify the state before foreclosing on delinquent subprime loans.

Based on data from the office of the governor, over 1,000 foreclosures have been prevented under the program since June and more than 3,000 homeowners were helped through foreclosure prevention and financial management counseling. The project has been estimated by state officials as giving a positive impact valued at $86 million on the state economy.

The pace of foreclosed houses for sale slowed in Phoenix in July compared to June sales, pushing down total home sales, based on data from a real estate research company.

In July, sales of new homes and resales of existing homes and condos dropped to 10,288 units in the Maricopa-Pinal metro area, a decrease of 4.1 percent compared to June but marked an increase of 27.7 percent compared to July 2008. Compared to all other July sales, total home sales for July 2008 marked the highest.

Sales of previously owned homes and condos increased for the 13th straight month on a year-over-year comparison, covering the 45.4 percent decline in newly built homes in July. The 1,029 total sales of new homes in July this year marked the lowest July new home sales in more than ten years.

Meanwhile, foreclosure homes and condos comprised 57.8 percent of all home and condo resales in July, a decrease of the 64-percent share in June and the lowest percentage since October 2008, when foreclosure sales accounted for only 54.7 percent of all total home resales. The share of foreclosure resales hit its highest level in March this year, when it reached 66.2 percent of all home and condo resales.

The median sales price in July for all newly-built and existing homes and condos was $132,500, an increase of 1.9 percent from the June median but a drop of more than 32 percent from July 2008. The July month-over-month price increase was the third straight monthly increase. The median price has increased slightly every month since it fell to its lowest level of $125,000 in April.

Phoenix analysts said that the median price increased because of the drop in sales of lower-priced foreclosure properties, the increase in number of move-up buyers and the rise in number of families looking for homes nearer the schools of their children.

The July overall median home sales price of $132,000 marked a 49.8-percent drop from the June 2006 median of $264,100, the highest price reached in Phoenix. The median home price has been dropping year-over-year for 30 straight months.

Repo homes in Phoenix have been dependent on first time homebuyers and investors. In July, 47.5 percent of all buyers used home loans guaranteed by FHA. Second-home buyers and investors comprised 42.5 percent of all home purchases.

According to Phoenix-area analysts, foreclosures will still play a significant role in the housing market in the coming months and years. In July, nearly 5,900 homes and condo units have been foreclosed in the Phoenix metro area.

A large number of repo homes for auction will be driven by the readjustment of option adjustable mortgage loans, according to a real estate research firm tracking subprime and other risky mortgages.

According to the firm, the delinquency and foreclosure rates for option ARMs have exceeded rates for subprime home loans since February partly because a lot of subprime home loans have already failed at the start of the crisis.

Based on a report from Inside Mortgage Finance, option ARMs taken out by borrowers from 2004 to 2007 totaled $750 billion. Approximately one-third of these mortgages are already delinquent. The others not yet in default still face great risks because many of them are not qualified for refinancing, either because of negative equity or stricter requirements for higher home loan amounts.

There were fewer option ARMs made during the housing boom compared to the number of subprime loans, but these option ARMs have larger amounts and balances. In recent years, readjusted monthly payments were often double of the original monthly payments.

Todd Jadlos, head of data analysis firm LPS Applied Analytics, said that as the number of subprime delinquencies increased by 200 percent in the middle months of 2007, the number of option ARM defaults increased by 400 percent. He added that ARM resets were not given significant attention by advocates and reporters in the first months of the housing meltdown because of the focus given to subprime.

Based on real estate data, roughly 600,000 option ARMs are expected to reset within 4 years. During the boom, lenders allowed borrowers to choose from among 4 payments options: just the interest payment; less than the interest payment, which adds the difference to the overall loan balance; standard monthly payment for a fixed-rate 30-year home loan; and standard monthly payment for a fixed-rate 15-year loan.

Data showed that 75 percent of borrowers chose the minimum-payment option, which typically ends after 5 years or when the overall loan balance reaches a threshold amount.

Barclays Capital analyst Elena Warshawsky said option ARMs were designed for sophisticated investors that expect increases in cash flows. The banks erred because they offered the option to all kinds of borrowers.

Now the banks are expected to lose around $112 billion on option ARMs they made during the boom years of 2005 to 2007.

Prices for single-family houses in 20 major cities in the U.S. increased by 1.4 percent in June, marking the second consecutive monthly increase after dropping every month since the middle of 2006.

Renters are fulfilling their dreams of home ownership by buying repossessed homes in the Minnesota city of Elk River with financial assistance from federal and state housing funds.

More foreclosure homes for sale across Georgia will go into the hands of buyers as more residents are taking advantage of the state tax credit offered by the state of Georgia, which is separate from the $8,000 federal tax credit.

Last month, house repossession filings in Hawaii rose by 332 percent to 990 homes compared with the same month a year ago. July figures indicated that one out of 512 homeowners received a foreclosure filing.

The pace of foreclosures in Central Texas continued to increase despite federal and state government efforts to help distressed homeowners, according to a Texas-based real estate research firm.

The Florida Supreme Court’s task force on residential foreclosures has recommended mediation on all foreclosure cases involving primary residences. The task force also suggested that judges should expedite all cases that deal with abandoned, vacant foreclosed bank owned properties.

A law that will encourage people to rent foreclosed houses is under attack from some industry experts who questioned the method used by the federal government in handling the housing market crisis.