Here is an interesting story I found in my email inbox recently.  I hope you enjoy it! Hey Investors! Check out the latest from ForeclosureRadar…

Foreclosure Sales Continue to Plummet

For the second month in a row we’ve seen a dramatic drop in the number of properties sold at foreclosure, or “trustee sale”, auctions. Foreclosure sales in California are down 16.7 percent from February to March 2012 and down 53.1 percent from March a year ago. A total of 86,487 sales were scheduled to occur in California, but of those 80.0 percent postponed, and 10.6 percent were cancelled, leaving just 8,392 that were actually sold. Third parties, typically investors, purchased a record 38.6% of the properties that did sell in California.

Foreclosure starts rose in most states, with the largest increases occurring in Washington, California and Nevada. This, at least temporarily, reverses a downward trend, but even with the increase the volume of new foreclosures remains significantly down year-over-year in all the states we cover.

The increase in foreclosure starts is especially interesting in Nevada. Bank foreclosures came to an almost complete halt there after the passage of Assembly Bill 284, which made significant changes to Nevada’s foreclosure laws. The increase this month is directly attributable to new foreclosure starts by Fannie Mae, which is one of very few lenders to have filed any new foreclosures in Nevada since September 2011. Even with the increase by Fannie Mae it is still homeowner associations that are initiating the vast majority of foreclosures in Nevada.

ForeclosureRadar

Has the Market Stabilized?

Stockton Real Estate – Dave Thurman

2011 Foreclosure Activity Ends With a Whimper

Realty World – Dave Thurman

Stockton Real Estate · Homes for Sale · REALTOR® Since 1976

On Saturday, January 14, 2012 from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM, you are invited to our Open Office at 2652 East Main Street in Stockton. If you are looking for residential, commercial, or investment properties in this area, don’t miss this opportunity to visit and meet with Dave Thurman, REALTOR®. Appointments are not necessary!

• Pick up a free list of homes!
• Foreclosure auction dates & information.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan.
• Ask questions about foreclosures and short sales.
• Discuss agency and disclosure requirements.
• Become a member & start up your own Shaklee business
• First-time buyers and investors are welcome.

The Wall Street Journal

Just as in 2011, in 2012 many will be trying to figure out where housing is headed. While the housing market didn’t worsen in 2011, it also didn’t stabilize either. This year, the story will be about local markets. While many housing markets rose and fell together, they’re recovering at difference paces so talking about housing on a national level is not beneficial.

Making sense of the story

• Confidence and jobs: Housing is more affordable than it has been in decades, but many would-be buyers are worried about buying today if prices are going to be lower tomorrow. Still, others don’t want to buy a house until they have more evidence that they’re not going to get laid off or see their hours cut back.

• Foreclosures: Banks and other mortgage investors own around 440,000 foreclosed properties, but there’s another 3.4 million loans in foreclosure or serious delinquency, according to estimates by Barclays Capital. Because banks are faster to cut prices to unload inventory than are traditional sellers, home values can fall further as the share of distressed sales rises.

• Rents: If low mortgage rates aren’t enough to give urgency to would-be buyers, rent hikes could accelerate buyers’ decisions to take the plunge.

• Mortgage credit and rates: It’s still hard for many buyers to get approved for a mortgage because banks are demanding lots of documentation of borrowers’ incomes.

• Regulation: Many analysts don’t expect Congress to make major changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during the election year, but several major regulatory changes could significantly reshape the future of the lending landscape in 2012.

• Meanwhile, the regulator that oversees Fannie and Freddie is revamping the way that mortgage companies are paid for collecting loan payments. This could lead to a broader shakeup in the mortgage industry that ultimately influences how much borrowers are charged for mortgages and how banks handle loans that fall into delinquency.

Read the full story

http://on.wsj.com/wHMaiG

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Number of Homes for Sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

November 2010 there were 1262 homes for sale in Stockton, California in comparison to November 2011 where there was a decrease to 919 homes for sale. The number of homes sold in November 2010  was 385 and in November 2011 the number of homes sold decreased to 354. In November 2010 there were 362 pending sales which increased to 494 in November 2011.

More graphs and charts from our MLS and  TrendVision Reports

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Home prices continued to sink in the third quarter, falling to levels not seen since early 2003.

Home prices dropped 3.9% year-over-year during the three months ended Sept. 30, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index. On a quarterly basis, prices were slightly higher, squeezing out a 0.1% gain. [Read More]

Related articles

• Coming up: September Case-Shiller home price index
• A Look at Case-Shiller by Metro Area
• Text:S&P/Case-Shiller: Sep Home Prices -0.6% Unadj; -3.6% y/y
• Summary Box: Home prices down in most US cities
• Atlanta experiences largest plunge in home price index
• Here Comes The September Case-Shiller Home Price Index…
• Home prices in Chicago area slide – Chicago Sun-Times
• Home Prices Decline
• FHFA home-price index climbs 0.9% in September

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) recently announced that it has shut down 85 alleged online mortgage modification scams that prey on vulnerable homeowners through Web banners and other Web advertisements.

SIGTARP investigates mortgage modification schemes in which companies charge struggling homeowners a fee in exchange for false promises of lowering the homeowner’s mortgage through TARP’s housing program known as the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Google, in cooperation with an ongoing criminal SIGTARP investigation of these scams, has suspended advertising relationships with more than 500 Internet advertisers and agents associated with the 85 alleged online mortgage fraud schemes and related deceptive advertising.
Fast Facts
Calif. median home price: October 2011: $278,060 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. highest median home price by region/county October  2011: Marin: $781,250 (Source: C.A.R.)
Calif. lowest median home price by region/county October 2011: Lake County: $96,500 (Source: C.A.R.)

Calif. Pending Home Sales Index: October 2011: 122., an increase of 3.1 percent compared with a prior year.

Calif. Traditional Housing Affordability Index: Third quarter 2011: 52 percent (Source: C.A.R.)

Mortgage rates: Week ending 11/17/2011 30-yr. fixed: 4.0% fees/points: 0.7% 15-yr. fixed: 3.31 fees/points: 0.7% 1-yr. adjustable: 2.98% Fees/points: 0.6% (Source: Freddie Mac)

Little Change in California, as Nevada and Washington Foreclosure Starts Plummet