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The pace of house foreclosed listing and issuance of default notices slowed in San Diego, according to real estate market analysts. But the rate of delinquencies is still rising, based on statements from government agencies and mortgage lenders.

In August, notices of defaults in San Diego County dropped to 2,658 notices, a nearly 20 percent drop from 3,318 notices in July and a 6.7 percent decrease from notices in August last year. It also marked the lowest number since November 2008.

Mortgage analysts however said there has not been a slowdown in the intensity of distress suffered by borrowers. The delinquency rate is still rising and the number of defaulting borrowers unable to pay their arrears continues to rise.

Typically, the analysts said, the banks file notices of delinquencies after 2 or 3 months of missed payments and then proceed with foreclosure within 6 months from the first missed payment.

According to the analysts, the decline in default and foreclosure notices may have been driven by the increased pressure from government agencies and housing advocates for more loan modifications and the increased efforts to complete short sales to avoid house foreclosed listing.

But based on initial data, about 50 percent of borrowers who have obtained loan modifications have not been able to sustain payments because of reduced income, job loss, existence of other personal debts and family problems.

There are also reports that many modified loans have not reduced monthly payments, but instead increased them because lenders have added unpaid balances and other fees to the principal.

Many other monthly payments have also increased substantially after modification because these loans are originally option adjustable rate mortgages which featured very low monthly payments. Adjusting from very low monthly payments to higher levels but typical for conventional loans is certainly difficult for many borrowers.

Norm Miller, a professor of real estate at the University of San Diego, said that the improving default and foreclosure numbers may be reflecting the slight improvement in the unemployment situation. He explained that the jobless rate in San Diego in August remained unchanged while the nationwide and statewide rates increased.

In addition, the shift in foreclosure and default trends also occurred in the type of communities affected. While foreclosures slowed in moderate-income areas targeted by subprime lending, the pace of house foreclosed listing is now rising in higher-income communities where most houses were purchased with prime loans.

Home foreclosure listing is still growing in metro Atlanta despite published reports of declining foreclosures in other metro areas in the country.

According to data from Alpharetta-based real estate research firm Equity Depot, nearly 117,000 residential properties in metro Atlanta will have been notified of foreclosure by the end of the year if the current foreclosure pace does not slow down.

Barry Bramlett of Equity Depot said that the main reason for foreclosures now is no longer subprime lending but unemployment and other effects of the recession. In the past years, defaulting borrowers were able to quickly sell their houses to be able to pay their loans, but now they cannot sell even at low prices.

According to Dan Immergluck, regional and city planning professor at Georgia Tech, the largest growth in home foreclosure listing are in the counties of Gwinnett, Cobb, Forsyth and Cherokee. He explained that the foreclosure crisis has reached the higher-cost communities in the suburbs.

As of January, the highest number of foreclosure notices was posted in Fulton County, which had more than 18,600 filings. At its current pace, Fulton is expected to reach 35 percent more filings than last year. Gwinnett, which had already more than 17,000 filings, is expected to reach 71 percent more filings than last year.

Out of the 13 counties surveyed, only DeKalb County has not yet surpassed total filings in 2008, but it is expected to reach 13,677 foreclosure filings or 30 percent more filings this year compared to last year.

Meanwhile, Cobb County is expected to reach 12,833 filings, 57 percent more than last year’s filings. Cobb has about 201,000 houses, according to Steve Palm of SmartNumbers. With Equity Depot foreclosure data, over 6 percent of 201,000 homes will have been notified of foreclosure by the end of the year. In contrast, only 15,253 houses were notified of foreclosure in 2000.

Palm said that around one-third of households receiving foreclosure notices ultimately go into foreclosure. The percentage is higher than during the first months of the foreclosure crisis because many homeowners facing foreclosures now are prime borrowers. Oftentimes these borrowers have other resources they can use to prevent their properties from being repossessed by the banks.

Nonetheless, according to Atlanta analysts, even prime borrowers will not be able to prevent their properties from going into home foreclosure listing if the economy does not recover as quickly as hoped for.

Pre foreclosure listings are a good start for individuals looking for investment opportunities, but a thorough analysis of risks should be done in order to lessen or remove the risk of losing investment money.

Pre-foreclosure purchases, when done correctly, provide the buyer with profit opportunities since pre-foreclosure properties are sold at much lower prices. But these purchases are also fraught with risks. The seller could disappear before the pre-foreclosure is completed or he could lie about the real conditions of the house and situations in the neighborhood.

There could also be liens or other claims that are not immediately posted on the deeds. Unpaid property taxes and utility bills oftentimes are among the problems faced by buyers of pre-foreclosures.

In California, there are laws that protect homeowners forced to sell their homes to avoid foreclosure. If the pre-foreclosure sale is not carried out according to state law, the sale could be rescinded and the seller could take back the property.

So if you are considering investing in pre-foreclosures, you need to know the laws and legal procedures on short sales or repo pre foreclosure sales in your state. You also need to make sure that the lender has really approved the short sale.

When looking at pre foreclosure listings to look for homes that you can further examine, it is best that you ask for the help of a buyer’s real estate agent who is an expert in the area where you like to buy a home.

It is also beneficial if you choose an agent or broker specializing in distressed short sales or pre-foreclosure sales. These types of agents are well experienced in the typical time frames of short sales and foreclosures in your state. They will know if a short sale can be completed before the final stage of the foreclosure process is reached.

If the agent is familiar with your market, he can help you identify properties that can be acquired in pre-foreclosure sales. He will also know if sellers are able to work with buyers quickly to complete short sales.

Another risk that arises in pre foreclosure sales is bankruptcy filing. There are cases where sellers file for bankruptcy protection and then negotiate to sell their distressed homes in a pre-foreclosure transaction.

Lastly, when considering pre foreclosure listings, do not be enticed by the low prices and rosy investment projections. Ask help from an experienced pre-foreclosure agent and a certified foreclosure home inspector.

Foreclosure listings in New York are expected to include condo units at the Rector Square in Battery Park City after Anglo-Irish Bank decided to file another lawsuit to complete its foreclosure case in New York State Supreme Court against Yair Levy, the develop, in August. It said that it wants to sell the project to another investor so that the condo conversion can be completed.