Archive for the 'California Articles' Category

Investment activities in Los Angeles repossessed homes are still up despite the slowdown in foreclosure activity. Absentee buyers, who are largely investors, accounted for almost 20 percent of all home purchases in Southland in June.

Additionally, cash purchases, which are also typically purchases by investors, made up nearly 24 percent of all Southland home purchases during the month. Flipping activities were also still a strong part of the market, as flippers accounted for 3.4 percent of all house sales in June, up from only 1.9 percent in June last year. These flipped properties were bought and resold within a period of only six months.

For homes purchased by absentee buyers in June, the median price was $220,000. For cash purchases, the median price was $213,000. Both of these median prices were much lower than $300,000, which was the price median paid for all types of Southland homes sold in June. These meant that investors either chose the lower-priced units, such as Los Angeles repossessed homes, or received substantial price discounts. Either way, they bought homes they know they can profit from as rentals or resale properties.

Since units from list of repossessed homes are typically the ones sold at lower prices, it is also inferred that investors made up a big portion of buyers of foreclosed homes in June. Resale of foreclosures made up 33 percent of all home resales during the month, a still high percentage despite dropping from 33.9 percent in the previous month and from more than 45 percent in June 2009. The highest share for foreclosure sales in Southland occurred in February last year, when nearly 57 percent of all house sales were foreclosed properties.

Despite the drop in number of repo homes in California in June by 18.47 percent from nearly 16,000 REO units in May, investors still have a large foreclosure inventory to explore, as the 13,001 homes repossessed in June is still a relatively high number. A big portion of these were Los Angeles repossessed homes, so investors focused on LA foreclosures also have a lot to explore.

Affordable housing programs and land trust projects are additional attractions for investors in Oakland repossessed properties. These programs make Oakland neighborhoods more desirable for residents and out-of-state buyers as they add value to properties.

Oakland, which lies on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, is one of the busiest commercial centers in the state, as its ports serve international container ships.

The home ownership program of the Oakland Community Land Trust now includes fixing a chosen repossessed property for sale and then reselling it to a low-income family. It already has readied two units for its first beneficiary families, the first two of 130 units identified in neighborhoods hardest hit by foreclosure. Officers of the land trust said families who are renters and who cannot buy homes outside of the program will be given priority.

The California Reinvestment Coalition, meanwhile, conducted a survey of foreclosure counselors to help publicize and cut down the number of Oakland repossessed properties. It found that almost two-thirds of counselors surveyed said they have at least one client whose home was foreclosed and repossessed while in the process of seeking loan modification. The good news was that another 23 percent of counselors reported they were able to stop a foreclosure sale and that about 16 percent said they never faced a similar problem with lenders.

The affordable housing program launched by the San Francisco Federal Home Loan Bank is also another great project that can improve the housing market in Oakland. Among the Bay Area projects given funds was the 30-unit Fairmount Apartments in Oakland, which was built by Affordable Housing Associates. Grants amounting to $5.6 million have been set aside for Bay Area projects by the bank. The Ford Foundation is also set to provide up to $25 million to help improve housing and transportation program in the Bay Area.

These various housing projects are all helpful in cutting down the number of Oakland repossessed properties and all other repo homes for sale in California, as better communities attract investors and home buyers. 

As the number of San Jose repo properties for sale declined in May, house prices improved substantially, and as buyers moved fast to take advantage of the housing inventory before prices shoot up, house sales also increased.

Repossession homes for sale and distressed homes dropped in number in San Jose and in other parts of Santa Clara County in May to 778 units, down by 41.9 percent from 1,339 units in May 2009 and by 19.46 percent from 966 units in the prior month. The number of bank owned units also dropped to 410 units over the year.

The median price for all pre-owned single-family houses sold in May in the county jumped by 23 percent over the year to $585,000, also marking a jump of 6.4 percent from the April median price. For the first time since August 2008, the sales price median in Santa Clara was just $7,750 away from the $592,750 record sales price level.

Local analysts said that the surge in house prices was largely due to the change in mix in sales. They said there were now fewer San Jose repo properties for sale and more higher-end houses on the market. In Santa Clara, 54 percent of all types of homes sold in May were purchased for $500,000 and above, up from the 42-percent share of higher-end homes one year earlier.

Meanwhile, the percentage of foreclosed homes sold dropped significantly from 34 percent in May last year to 19 percent in May this year, a percentage closer to the normal mix of house sales compared to previous percentages. Home sales also shot up by 24 percent over the month to a total of 1,464 homes in May.

The number of repossessed homes in California also dropped in May to 15,946 units, down by nearly six percent from almost 17,000 units in April. As the drop in San Jose repo properties for sale droveup prices, California home prices also improved as foreclosure filings slowed down on a year-over-year basis.

Labor unions have been carrying out various activities to help contain Los Angeles repo homes for sale. They have been gathering data on mortgage foreclosures, derivative securities and Wall Street bonuses to complete their armor as they fight the big banks they blame as the ones that largely caused the financial crisis.

The first foreclosed property on sale purchased under the valley’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program has been repaired, renovated and ready to be resold, according to city officials of Indio.
Renters or residents of the Coachella Valley who want to own homes under the NSP program are advised to call HomeFinders Inc., submit their documents and wait for [...]

The growth of Los Angeles foreclosed properties may be averted in the coming months if banks make good on their promise of preventing more homes from getting foreclosed by stepping up their loan modification efforts.

People can buy foreclosed properties for sale in Southern California and make profits when home prices return to their normal levels. Prices for homes and condo units continue to fall in most areas of the region.

The Seven Trees neighborhood in San Jose, California has 353 foreclosure properties, the highest in the city. And many foreclosed homes in this neighborhood are deteriorating, with knee high grasses that are badly in need of a trim.

Record numbers of jobless homeowners in Riverside County has been driving the continued rise in foreclosed properties for sale in the area.

Filmmaker Stephen Payne has produced a movie that documents the repo homes crisis in the country, its causes and effects. The movie, entitled “Fresno,” delves into the mortgage meltdown and the subsequent housing crisis.