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Nevada foreclosure sales, filings slow
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Foreclosure activity slowed in November for the second straight month, and Nevada foreclosure sales have decreased 50 percent from two months ago, website ForeclosureRadar.com reported Tuesday.
Major lenders such as Bank of America, GMAC Mortgage and JP Morgan Chase voluntarily suspended foreclosure filings in early October after certain practices commonly used during the foreclosure process were called into question.
While initially limited to judicial foreclosure states, the "robo-signing" controversy began slowing foreclosures in nonjudicial states, or states that do not require court approval, including Nevada.
Foreclosure sales in Nevada are down 22.1 percent from October and down 50.5 percent from September, Discovery Bay, Calif.-based ForeclosureRadar reported. The firm counted 1,870 foreclosure sales in November, compared with 2,399 in October and 3,781 in September.
Notice of default filings are also down for the second month in a row, dropping 12.7 percent from October and 24.3 percent from September.
Nevada foreclosure activity was clearly affected not only by the holidays, but also by delays caused by the robo-signing scandal, ForeclosureRadar Chief Executive Officer Sean O'Toole said.
"It wasn't unusual to see more than a thousand foreclosure sales a week where Bank of America was identified as the beneficiary on the foreclosure notice prior to the freeze," he said. "With the freeze in place, that dropped to less than a couple dozen a week."
The remaining "mystery" is why the bank stopped the process in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, O'Toole said. Problems in the affidavit filing process only affect the judicial foreclosure process, which none of those states use.
"It's not clear that we'll ever know if they actually had some documentation problems in the nonjudicial states as well, or simply stopped foreclosures everywhere in an abundance of caution," O'Toole said.
Foreclosure starts were down across the board in November, ranging from a 9.3 percent monthly decline in California to a staggering 31.7 percent decline in Washington, the firm showed.
Bank of America, which had the largest impact on the foreclosure moratorium, started foreclosing again in the first week of December. That will likely take foreclosures back to normal levels in the coming months, O'Toole said.
"I don't expect a wave of foreclosures," he said. "I understand why people are saying that, but there's simply not the appetite or political will. The banks saw that if they get too aggressive, there's going to be greater interference in the process. The bad news is we're going to continue to deal with this level of foreclosures for longer than we'd anticipated."
Las Vegas' foreclosure pipeline is still among the largest in the country. The Mortgage Bankers Association showed that 22.6 percent of Nevada mortgages are in some form of delinquency or foreclosure as of September, well above the national average of 13.8 percent and second only to Florida's 24.7 percent.
Housing analysts remain concerned about Nevada's growing backlog of foreclosure inventory that will eventually need to be released. It could come as a flood or a trickle.
"We continue to believe any meaningful acceleration in the liquidation of the current foreclosure backlog could result in downward pressure on prices," Raymond James analysts Buck Horne and Paul Puryear said in their Las Vegas housing market update.
Contact reporter Hubble Smith at hsmith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0491.
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Hubble,
Judicial or non-judicial is irrelavant here. Fraud is Fraud. The banksters have polluted our valley's titles for at least the next 2 decades, or more.
You may remember that I told you about all of this last March or April. Then, you said that it would not affect Nevada. Well, look at us now. As you can tell, I am about 6 months ahead of the headline news. Do you want to know where we will be next June? I've got all the answers for you. Call me.
Roger,
I was offered mortgage relief by my lender. They were willing to write down one of the loans from $102k to $22k about $80% off. The issue is the do not have the note and have acted in bad faith all along (i.e. unclean hands) So, I am suing the beasts.
In about a month my case will be the national headline news! I got 4 loans from the same little bank declaring $1 (one dollar) annual income.
I am not going for "mortgage relief" but for a full blown class-action lawsuit seeking $100mil in damages. And I got the best class action attorneys in Nevada. We are sitting pretty this holiday season! lol
I welcome all comments at:
providencegroup@ymail.com
Another 12-16% decline is a given in Residential. Commercial is eroding and defaults are rising to new highs on CMBS!
@k.b...."everyone but those who still manage to pay their debts."....EXACTLY !!!
@Irma...you are so right... people need to act in their best interests, financially or otherwise... if it doesn't meet the morality standards of others so be it...
It no ones "responsibility" to repay debt. We have an option to file banqruptcy and be relieved. Just because the bank and you made a bad decision on the market, does not make you burdened forever. Let it go, its not immoral as some tools would have you believe. Remember, corporations and wealthy individuals have done it for years. Just the little people think its immoral not to start over. Throw off the yoke and get smart.
"I again ask 'has ANYONE gotten any mortgage relief?'"... Bank of America, Country Wide, strategic defaulters, everyone but those who still manage to pay their debts. Foreign investors are now buying America at rock bottom prices while Wall Street Banks, democrats and republicans argue over who gets to loot the treasury.
@Nick, congrats, sounds like you did well. What I am concerned with are primarily those who made purchases during the 'boom' years. I did some research and am finding homes (SW Summerlin area) that were sold in the mid to high $500k range now going for approx $230k.. they seems like the people who will eventually walk away and continue to drag down values and stall any property value recovery... I recently saw a news headline speaking of help for ALL underwater homeowners, within the last few days, has anyone heard anything ??
I got mortgage relief. I refinanced my home at a much lowere interest rate. I was able to do this because my credit scores were good and I was able to come up with enough cash to lower the principal. I was upside down like everybody else, but I understand that it is my responsibility to repay this debt. I purchased my home with the understanding that prices fluctuate (in all markets). I lost money like everybody else... it happens.
Since the unemployment rate has remained high and steady for quite a while the next wave of foreclosures should be strategic defaults, and/or ARM resets. We have seen almost 70% depreciation in values and the incentive to continue payments is just not there, so either way the foreclosures are probably going to continue. Where;s all that homeowner relief money Obama and Reid promised? I again ask 'has ANYONE gotten any mortgage relief?'
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