LOS ANGELES BANKRUPTCY BLOG
California Sees Steepest Drop in Foreclosures in Four Years
Aug 01, 2011
An analysis of 2011 data indicates that there has been a sharp drop in homes entering foreclosure in California, with numbers at their lowest levels in four years. The number of actual foreclosures in California was at its second lowest level in more than three years.According to data by DataQuick Information as reported by the Orange County Register, there were 56,633 default notices filed on 55,150 homes. That is a drop of 19.2% from a year ago. Lenders foreclosed on 42,465 homes in California, a drop of 10.9% from a year ago.
Most of these loans were from between 2005 and 2007. For most homeowners, it took an average of sixteen months to lose their homes, from the time they stopped making payments. Last quarter, the total foreclosure numbers were the lowest since the fourth quarter of 2010, when there were 35,431 filings, and the second lowest since the fourth-quarter of 2007 when they were 31,676 filings.
It's hard for Los Angeles bankruptcy lawyers to explain this drop in California foreclosures this year. Changes in bank policies, the political climate and legal complications may have had something to do with it. Lenders may be holding back on foreclosures of homes whose owners have stopped paying, in order to avoid flooding the market. According to DataQuick, apart from lenders and those within the industry, it's hard for anyone to explain why foreclosures are down this year.
However, there's little reason for optimism. In spite of the fact that foreclosures are down, cities in California still has some of the heaviest foreclosure activity in the country. In fact, California occupied seven of the top ten slots for foreclosures around the country. According to RealtyTrac, seven cities and regions in California including Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Modesto, Stockton, Vallejo-Fairfield, Bakersfield, Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, and Merced had high foreclosure activity in the first half of 2011.
