Don't miss all the foreclosure freeze stories: Bank of America/Ally Bank Extend Foreclosure Freeze to all 50 States, Who Is On The MERS Board of Directors?, Is MERS Causing a Foreclosure Nightmare?, Will Foreclosure Freezes Fix The Housing Market?, and Are You Getting Screwed By Your Lender?
Wondering how the foreclosure freezes affected foreclosures in October? According to one foreclosure expert, the impact was less than expected on October foreclosures.
Foreclosure Truth Blog reported foreclosure filings were less impacted than expected by the foreclosure freeze of several major U.S. banks in October.
Foreclosure filings by Bank of America dropped slightly just after their announcement, but began picking up the following week.
Despite the limited impact of the announced suspensions, Notices of Default filings were generally down for the month (state-by-state details are available on the Foreclosure Truth website).
"Despite a short-term impact to foreclosure sales, the latest foreclosure scandal will likely lead to little more than a new scam perpetrated on those who have already lost their home," says Sean O'Toole, CEO and Founder of ForeclosureRadar.com, and author of the Foreclosure Truth Blog.
"Much like the cottage industry of loan modification consultants that took up-front fees and provided little in return, we are now seeing [foreclosure] consultants promising to overturn foreclosure sales, despite any experience in actually doing so," he added.
Foreclosure Truth Blog highlighted numbers from western states and found, overall, states had declining cancellations in October.
- Arizona. Notice of Trustee Sale filings dropped 12.6 percent in October from September, and were down 15.0 percent from the prior year. After a steady rise last year, the October inventory of Bank Owned (REO) properties was flat, which was likely helped by the 27.0 percent drop in foreclosures that went back to the bank.
- California. Preforeclosure inventories dropped 11.8 percent in October from the prior month, largely thanks to a 16.8 percent drop in Notice of Default filings. Despite the significant decline in new Bank Owned (REO) properties, REO inventories actually rose, as REO resales continued to slow.
- Nevada. After a dramatic rise of 39.2 percent in September, foreclosure sales dropped 36.6 percent in October. The impact of suspensions brought overall foreclosure sales back to typical levels. Foreclosure filings were also down from September to October, with Notice of Default filings down 13.5 percent.
- Oregon. Foreclosure activity was down across the board in Oregon. Notice of Default filings dropped 14.8 percent and Notice of Trustee Sale filings declined a significant 35.8 percent. Foreclosure sales were also down, with properties going back to the bank (REO) down 38.2 percent and those Sold to 3rd Parties down 36.5 percent.
- Washington. Washington was the least impacted by foreclosure suspensions of any state that we cover, with foreclosure sales down just 8.2 percent. Washington's cancellations jumped 49.7 percent from September to October; this bucked the trend among other states that had declining cancellations for months. Notice of Trustee Sale filings in Washington state increased 1.8
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Ilyce R. Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In!. She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com and The Equifax Personal Finance Blog, and is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors.
Ilyce Glink
Ilyce R. Glink is an award-winning, nationally-syndicated columnist, best-selling book author and founder of Best Money Moves, an employee benefit program that helps reduce financial stress. She also owns ThinkGlink.com, where readers can find real estate and personal finance resources.
