Foreclosure Report – December 2012

Jan 15, 2013

CA Foreclosure Reports

Big Milestones for Both the Foreclosure Marketplace and ForeclosureRadar®

On November 26, 2012, ForeclosureRadar recorded its millionth California foreclosure sale since we began collecting the data in January 2007. While the foreclosure process can be painful and unpleasant, this milestone also means a million underwater homeowners have escaped a prison of debt. In addition, the California real estate market has made real progress towards eliminating some of the trillions of dollars in excess mortgage debt accumulated nationally during the bubble years. Rather than being the problem, foreclosures are part of the solution and have helped the California housing market make steady strides toward recovery.

This milestone provides an excellent opportunity to review the California foreclosure marketplace from 2007 to 2012, which we do in our “Retrospective: ForeclosureRadar Records its Millionth California Foreclosure Sale.” This review summarizes foreclosure trends over the past five years, highlights the impact of massive government intervention, studies the real problem – negative equity, and concludes with our outlook for 2013.

This month is also a major milestone for ForeclosureRadar as we will unveil a massive new product in California, and current customers will get the first look. Thus, this will be the last Foreclosure Report in its current form. Beginning next month, we will be bringing you the “Property Report,” which will highlight key trends and opportunities in the California real estate marketplace, including critical foreclosure trends.

Foreclosure activity continued to decline in December 2012. California Notices of Default were down 14.5 percent from the prior month and down 39.8 percent from the prior year. Foreclosure sales were down 22.3 percent from the prior month and down 47.9 percent from the prior year.

December 2012 California foreclosure inventory – including Preforeclosure, Scheduled for Sale, and Bank Owned (REO) inventories – fell 9.8 percent from the prior month and is down 49.6 percent compared to last year.

“As outlined in my 2013 California Housing Forecast, I remain relatively bullish on the housing market for 2013," said Sean O'Toole, Founder & CEO of ForeclosureRadar. "While the impacts of higher taxes, the lack of fiscal discipline, and the possibility of a 'black swan' leave me concerned about the economy as a whole. I believe housing will prove a safer investment than most other alternatives. I also can’t wait to show our customers what we’ve been hard at work on for the last 2 years!”