29% Foreclosure Decline in 2011 is Deceptive
In Illinois last month, 6,541 homes received initial foreclosure filings, while another 1,944 properties were scheduled for court-ordered auctions and 2,529 properties were repossessed by lenders, the company said in its monthly report. Altogether, foreclosure activity in June rose 4 percent from May but was still down 25 percent from a year earlier.
Processing delays that resulted from foreclosure moratoriums while servicers investigated their in-house procedures continued to slow foreclosure activity in the first six months of the year nationally and particularly in states such as Illinois, where foreclosures are handled by local courts.
As a result, RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio predicted that as many as 1 million foreclosure actions that should have taken place this year now will be pushed into 2012 or later. If that does occur, it will keep downward pressure on home prices and lengthen the housing market's malaise.
Nationally, it took an average of 318 days to foreclosure on a property during the second quarter. That compares with 298 days in the first quarter and 277 days in 2010's second quarter.
Earlier this week, Hope Now reported reported that foreclosure starts rose 8 percent nationally in May from the month earlier and the number of in-house loan modifications arranged by servicers, which are now more prevalent than those granted under the government's Home Affordable Modification Program fell 7 percent.
Meanwhile, the number of foreclosed homes that were sold fell for the second straight month, according to the private sector group of mortgage servicers, investors, insurers and non-profit housing counselors.
Source:chicagotribune
