US May home repossession hits record, defaults ebb
(AFX UK Focus) 2010-06-10 05:15
http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews ... on=article
Ahem...NEW YORK, June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. lenders repossessed homes at a record pace in May, although foreclosure activity slowed slightly as lenders tackled the backlog of distressed properties already in the system rather than pile on new defaults.
However, a sustained turnaround in the pace of failing loans will be elusive without a meaningful improvement in the job market, the Irvine, California-based real estate data company said.
Banks took control of 93,777 properties in May, a record, topping the prior record in April by 1 percent and spiking 44 percent from a year earlier.
Every state saw more bank repossessions than a year ago.
It remains to be seen whether "we may be at a point where most of the damage has already been done and it's just a question of working through the wreckage before we come to a full recovery, as opposed to the pipeline continuing to get fuller and fuller," RealtyTrac senior vice president Rick Sharga, said in an interview...
..."Lenders appear to be ramping up the pace of completing those forestalled foreclosures even while the inflow of delinquencies into the foreclosure process has slowed," RealtyTrac's CEO James J. Saccacio said in a statement.
With notices on 322,920 properties, one in every 400 U.S. housing units got a foreclosure filing in May compared with one in every 387 the prior month.
"Employment is still weaker than it needs to be to facilitate a fully recovery in the housing market, but it's at least not getting any worse," said Sharga.
There are 5.5 million seriously delinquent loans still in the system, according to RealtyTrac.
"Best case scenario is you're still looking at about another three years to work through the inventory that's already in the pipeline of distressed properties," he said...
...The overhang of foreclosures will keep prices from rebounding much over the next two to three years, though another freefall is unlikely as long as the homes are resold at a measured pace, most industry experts agree.
Ten states accounted for more than 70 percent of all May foreclosure actions: California, Florida, Michigan, Arizona, Illinois, Nevada, Georgia, Texas, Ohio and New Jersey.
California had 22 percent of the national total with 72,030 properties getting a foreclosure notice, up 3 percent in the month but down nearly 22 percent from May 2009.
Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California had the highest rates of foreclosure last month. These were among states with the most overbuilding and price inflation during the boom and the most pain in the bust.
Nevada, with one in every 79 housing units getting a filing in May, had the highest rate for the 41st straight month even with a nearly 12 percent drop in foreclosure activity from April and 16 percent drop in the year.
Other states with foreclosure rates among the top 10 in May were Michigan, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Utah and Maryland.
Jobs. Industry.
actually now that I think about it... that describes me perfectly 
...except you're not quite the same gadfly as is Cleets. 
