Rising Trends in Foreclosure News

Real estate analysts continue to worry about the state of foreclosure news in the United States as the number of filings rose for the third time within the five-month period that ended in July 2009.  Apparently, more and more homeowners are finding it impossible to keep up with the monthly payments as more and more workers lose their jobs and the price of property declines.  For the whole nation, the number of foreclosure filings was more than 360,000 and one out of 355 homeowners were at risk of losing property.  Meanwhile, one out of 135 homeowners in Arizona could lose his or her home, proving that the condition of AZ foreclosures is worse than the current situation of the whole country.  In contrast, the situation for MS foreclosures appears be better, with only one home out of 2,625 under threat of being foreclosed.

The rising number of employees who are being laid off or dismissed by their companies is one of the main reasons for depressing foreclosure news in the United States.  A record number of jobs lost was reached in July 2009, when approximately 247,000 workers were notified that they no longer need to return to work.  Being unemployed, borrowers are being forced to default on their payments for the mortgages.  Another key reason for the downtrend in foreclosure news is the decline in prices for homes because of the very low demand.  In turn, the lack of demand is the result of the recession, low investor confidence, and stricter underwriting requirements.  Many homeowners have found it discouraging to continue paying their mortgages when the value of their homes is now lower than the loan amount they are paying for.

According to the National Association of Realtors, the median price for single-family homes has decreased by 15.6 percent to a value of 4,000 during the second quarter of 2009.  This is the lowest value since 1979, thus the discouraging foreclosure news continues throughout the country.  Of course, one of the key reasons for the negative foreclosure news is the rise in unemployment, as it reached 9.4 percent in July 2009.  This situation has caused more than 126,000 individuals to file for bankruptcy.  The American Bankruptcy Institute has warned that the total number of bankruptcies could reach 1.4 million for 2009, as banks refuse to issue loans and companies cut down on labor costs.

Foreclosure news may be a bit positive when it comes to loan modifications.  Approximately 235,000 homeowners were able to get their loans restructured under the federal program.  However, the actual target is four million homeowners in the whole country, so the number is still low.