California Foreclosure Sales Up 14 Percent in July

California foreclosure sales jumped 14.0 percent in July.  Several of the largest banks resumed foreclosure sales following a temporary pause due to an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) guidance letter that specified minimum standards for handling borrower files subject to foreclosure.  Splitting July foreclosure sales into their respective components — Sold to Third Party and Bank to Bank (RE0) — Sold to Third-party sales fell 0.6 percent in July while REOs surged 31.8 percent.  Over the past 12 months, Sold to Third-party and REO sales are down 56.7 percent and 66.2 percent, respectively.

Notices of Default (NODs) in California fell 8.4 percent in July and were down 63.9 percent for the year.  Notices of Trustee Sale (NTS) were down 12.9 percent for the month and down 55.6 percent for the year.   Over the past year NODs and NTS have declined for two reasons:

• Rising California home prices reduce the number of homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth, making them eligible to refinance or sell their homes.
• The California Homeowner Bill of Rights prevents dual-tracking, which is lengthening the time to foreclose.

In recent months, however, the rate of decline has slowed as the foreclosure market approaches a more normal foreclosure activity state.

For our SF Bay Area readers, listen to the August 14 KQED interview on Bay Area foreclosures.

August 14 KQED Interview on SF Bay Area Foreclosures With PropertyRadar, Madeline Schnapp

‍July Foreclosure Stats & Trends, by State

‍For a complete summary of July foreclosure stats and trends, please click on the following links:

California foreclosure stats and trends

Foreclosure starts: 7,836 (-8.4%)

Foreclosure sales: 2,966 (+14.0%)

Time to foreclose: 344 days (-0.6%)

Arizona foreclosure stats and trends

Foreclosure starts: 2,131 (-18.4%)

Foreclosure sales:  1,640 (+12.8%)

Time to foreclose: 142 days (-1.4%)

Nevada foreclosure stats and trends

Foreclosure starts: 1,247 (+56.7%)

Foreclosure sales:  688 (+11.9%)

Time to foreclose:  307 days (+0.7%)

Oregon foreclosure stats and trends

Foreclosure starts:  64 (-3.0%)

Foreclosure sales: 19 (+5.6%)

Time to foreclose: 150 days (+10.3%)

Washington foreclosure stats and trends

Foreclosure starts:  1,877 (-10.8%)

Foreclosure sales: 1,402 (+18.3%)

Time to foreclose:  142 days (+4.4%)