Bay Area Sees Big Increase Cancellation of Foreclosure Auctions

ForeclosureRadar said cancellations jumped 60 percent in California from September to October, the biggest jump since it began tracking cancellations in 2006. Similar leaps in the number of cancellations were seen in the Bay Area.

Cancellations are attributed by the company to a successful loan modification or short sale, or are due to filing errors by the banks or are caused by rules requiring lenders to refile a notice of sale after extended postponements.

Joe Reichert of Keller Williams Realty in Danville said he’s done 50 short sales this year but expects the number to decline as banks modify loans and more people hang on to their homes waiting until they are back above water and can sell for more than the amount of their mortgage.

“Fewer homes are in trouble,” Reichert said. “There’s a mentality of, ‘I’m almost over the hump, and if I hold on a bit longer values will come up,'” he said.

There are still plenty of people in trouble with their mortgages, although the numbers are declining, said Martin Eichner of Project Sentinel in Sunnyvale, an authorized nonprofit that helps struggling homeowners.

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