Skip to search.

RealtyTrac: Foreclosures Drop in November But Will Come Roaring Back in 2011

Posted Dec 17, 2010 07:30am EST by Peter Gorenstein in Investing, Banking, Housing

The number of foreclosures fell 21% in November versus the previous month and 14% versus a year ago, according to RealtyTrac, the online marketplace for foreclosure properties.  That's the largest single month and year-over-year decreases since RealtyTrac started publishing this info in 2005.

That sounds like some well needed good news for housing market.  Unfortunately, the numbers are deceiving, says RealtyTrac senior vice president Rick Sharga. The decrease is due in large part to the foreclosure freeze caused by the "robo-sgning" scandal.

"The majority of the decreases due to the robo-signing issues that have been reported on a lot over the last month which have caused the lenders and servicers to delay foreclosure proceedings," he says. "4th quarter numbers for this year will be artificially low," but then will ramp up again in the first quarter of 2011.

In fact, Sharga predicts more foreclosures next year: "2011 will be a record year again for foreclosure activity and for the number of bank repossessions," he tells Aaron in the accompanying clip.

What's continuing to drive the trend is high unemployment, weak demand and  lending standards that remain tight.

Proving the old idiom, all real estate is local, 10 states account for 70% of the national foreclosures.  No surprise, Nevada, California and Florida continue to lead the pack.

61 comments

Post a comment

Sign in to post a comment, or Sign up for a free account.
Quotes delayed, except where indicated otherwise. Delay times are 15 mins for NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex. See also delay times for other exchanges.

Quotes and other information supplied by independent providers identified on the Yahoo! Finance partner page. Quotes are updated automatically, but will be turned off after 25 minutes of inactivity. Quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes for NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex. See also delay times for other exchanges. Real-Time continuous streaming quotes are available through our premium service. You may turn streaming quotes on or off. Fundamental company data provided by Capital IQ. Financials data provided by Edgar Online. Historical chart data and daily updates provided by Commodity Systems, Inc. (CSI). International historical chart data, daily updates, fund summary, fund performance, dividend data and Morningstar Index data provided by Morningstar, Inc. Analyst estimates data provided by Thomson Financial Network. All data provided by Thomson Financial Network is based solely upon research information provided by third party analysts. Yahoo! has not reviewed, and in no way endorses the validity of such data. Yahoo! and ThomsonFN shall not be liable for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All information provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Neither Yahoo! nor any of independent providers is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein. By accessing the Yahoo! site, you agree not to redistribute the information found therein.