REO Proteams: Las Vegas Real Estate News

The number of foreclosures dropped this November as the efforts of mortgage firms and government seem to have finally taken the bite out of some of the problems facing the housing market. This is largely attributed as banks and mortgage companies continue to evaluate applications after mounting pressure from government to speed up the refinancing program.

According to RealtyTrac Inc., 307,000 homes received foreclosure related notices this November or 8% lower from the previous month. In other news, another 77,000 homes were foreclosed the same month but figures were lower compared to those in October.

Millions of homeowners still face difficulty as government efforts to help them seem to move at an unusually slow pace. Banks have continually been criticized as their efforts to process loan modifications can sometimes be described only as snail-pace.

Continuing problems

“We don’t really believe the underlying problems have been resolved,” said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at the Irvine, Calif.-based foreclosure listing service. Many borrowers, he said, “simply aren’t going to qualify” for help.

The drop in numbers is largely attributed as banks continue their efforts to re-evaluate applications effectively delaying the number of actual foreclosures. Some states have also taken a more active hand by slowing the foreclosure process. More than 14 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are either late on their payments or in foreclosure, and that number is expected to keep rising as unemployment remains stubbornly high.

Although the number of foreclosures has slipped for the fourth consecutive month, analysts fear that these drops are only artificial until the real causes are not addressed. The number of foreclosures are still up 18 percent compared to last year’s figures and fears of a sudden surge in numbers is feared as unemployment remains high.

Out of the million of homeowners in danger of losing their homes, only a small fraction of them or around 10,000 actually received permanent loan modifications. Most of the government programs aimed at helping homeowners are still under negotiation, leaving homeowners with an uncertain future. This is just an example of how the numerous government programs have seemed to fail in terms of expected results and projections.

In a report released by the Treasury Department, it says that losses are expected to rise as efforts to stop the number of foreclosures would cost more than the $700 billion released earlier. Elizabeth Warren, chair of a watchdog panel, told reporters that the program is “not working” and that it had failed to make a dent in the record level of foreclosures.

Reported by REOProteams

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