REO Inventory Reaches All-Time High

I found this article and found it very interesting.  Did you know each foreclosure can lower your neighborhood value up to 9%?  Please call me if you or someone you know is struggling with paying their mortgage or wants to sell!  I can help! 

REO Inventory Reaches All-Time High
The national inventory of REO properties rose in March to a record high of 2.2 million. Foreclosure starts also increased by 33 percent month-over-month, according to the March Mortgage Monitor report by Lending Processing Services Inc.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom for the housing market. The report revealed a significant increase in foreclosure sales, which is helping to chip away at the swelling inventories that are battering many markets.

Also, delinquencies continue to decline, which is a sign of fewer foreclosures brewing in the pipeline. Delinquencies fell more than 11 percent in March from February — the lowest level since 2008 and a nearly 20 percent year-over-year decline, according to Lender Processing Services Inc. The total U.S. loan delinquency rate, which is for loans 30 or more days past due (but not in foreclosure), is 7.78 percent.

States with the highest percentage of loans where home owners have fallen behind are Florida, Nevada, Mississippi, New Jersey, and Georgia.

On the other hand, states that boast the lowest percentage of delinquent loans are Montana, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, and North Dakota.

Source: “Banks Build Record Foreclosure Inventory,” RISMedia (May 5, 2011)