Houses under Phoenix foreclosure listings and distressed home listings from across Arizona accounted for 49% of the total number of residential properties sold during 2010. The state was second only to Nevada, which posted a 57% foreclosure sales last year. Despite the high number of foreclosed property sales, local housing industry analysts are seeing some positive signs for Arizona as the figure declined from the 2009 peak of 54%.

The fourth quarter of 2010 contributed to the almost 50% foreclosure sales of the state for the full year as Arizona foreclosures listings accounted for 59% of all residential purchase transactions completed during October-December 2010. The figure represented an increase from the 2010 third quarter, when 54% of total home sales were attributed to foreclosures. Nationwide, the percentage has declined from the previous year, but remained higher than 2008 levels.

Residential properties at foreclosure homes list got 26% of total U.S. housing sales last year, down from the 2009 level of 29%. However, it was still much higher than the 23% recorded in 2008. A total of 831,574 REO and foreclosed properties were sold in the U.S. during the full 2010 period.

The volume of properties under list of bank foreclosures that were sold last year represented a decline of 31% when compared with 2009. Although the percentage of distressed property sales for last year was higher than the percentage recorded in 2008, the 2010 sales volume still represented a decrease of 14% from two years ago. The impact of distressed properties on non-foreclosed home sales remained significant though, as non-foreclosure sales dropped last year by 19% when compared with 2009 and posted a decline of 27% compared with 2008.

Real estate analysts stated that properties in foreclosure homes list will continue to impact the non-foreclosed housing market and it will take some time for the inventory to ease down. Prices of homes are expected to remain low in 2011, mainly because of foreclosure oversupply.

Foreclosure Homes List Accounts for Almost Half of Arizona Sales is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

There are two possible reasons for such lukewarm reception. It could be due to the chilly winter weather experienced in the past couple of days. Or, it could be the fact homeowners are giving up hope and no longer interested in preventing their homes to be among those featured in Phoenix foreclosure listings. The latter reason is understandable since many homeowners who tried to solve their mortgage problems received a chilly reception from their lender.

The events were actually sponsored by two mortgage giants, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America. These lenders have always been vocal about their desire to help distressed borrowers avoid getting their homes included in Arizona foreclosure lists or in any foreclosure listings service for that matter.

The Chase-sponsored event focused on providing helpful information to homeowners who are currently underwater and are considering short sale as a way out of their mortgage trouble. The activity was held at the Wyndham Phoenix Hotel.

Meanwhile, just a couple of blocks away is the mortgage assistance event organized by the National Assistance Corporation of America, wherein Bank of America is one of the major sponsors. This particular event tackled security among other things. It was held at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Whatever the reason for the low turnout of attendees, the fact remains there are literally millions of repo homes for sale in foreclosure listings service across the nation. But it is indeed alarming if the main reason for the low turnout is because most of these distressed borrowers are no longer thinking about finding a way to stop foreclosure and are just simply waiting for the time to walk away. Obviously, this will spell trouble for the entire housing industry.

Mortgage Assistance Offered Amidst Huge Demand for Foreclosure Listings Service is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

About 49,119 properties in Arizona received foreclosure filings in the first three months of this year, representing a 6 percent jump from the last period of 2008 and 79 percent increase compared with the first quarter a year ago.

Last March, Arizona registered 18,876 homeowners who received foreclosure filings, 4 percent higher from February and a whooping 105 percent increase from March of 2008.

This ever-increasing surge in the number of foreclosed homes in the state spawned a new breed of fraudsters who victimized homeowners in danger of going into repo home listings. Con artists know that many of distressed homeowners are desperate to avoid foreclosures and they use this knowledge to victimize them.

To address the growing number of foreclosure fraud cases, Arizona has intensified its efforts to stop these con artists from further ruining homeowners’ lives. Attorney General Terry Goddard has made an effort to make these con artists accountable for their crimes.

Goddard’s office has a pending lawsuit filed against Richard Winer who operates several limited-liability companies, including Homeowner Solutions LLC, Filibuster LLC, Taken Care of Investments LLC and Bourbon Street Property Management LLC.

Winer is charged of defrauding an estimated 400 homeowners in Arizona through his companies. According to court records, Winer and his sales team did their homework well by choosing only homeowners whom they could easily convince about their bogus service.

Court records said that Winer and his team would approach distressed homeowners, talk to them and promise them a sure way to save their properties from foreclosures. Winer and his team would structure the deals in such a way that would allow them to take over the distressed houses and their equities.

Meanwhile, Goddard conducted a criminal investigation of Bobby John Herrera who defrauded about 47 homeowners by posing as someone with influence over mortgage lenders and who could pave the way for preventing foreclosures.

Herrera took away around $1,245 upfront fees from each homeowner. He pleaded guilty on charges of fraud and was sentenced to prison and to give restitution payment of $73,000.

Goddard said that complaints about repo home listings fraud increased 30 percent in the state, with an estimated 450 homeowners losing their properties on fraudulent schemes.

Arizonas Campaign to Curb Repo Home Listings Fraudsters is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

According to Donald E. Cardon, director of ADOH, the current rise in foreclosure homes and low interest rates are reasons enough to purchase a distressed house in Arizona.

The state’s program will subsidize 22 percent of the foreclosed property?s sale price for potential homeowners. This will give a chance for eligible Arizonans to purchase and own affordable houses and for the state to reduce its number of bank foreclosed house.

The program will be packaged as differed second mortgage loans with no interest, no monthly mortgage payment and, after a period of time, can be forgivable. Several factors that will be used as basis for a person’s eligibility for the program include ratio of debt to income, area median income, participation in a Home-buyer Education Class and the intention to use the house as primary residence.

Under the program, potential homebuyers are required to buy a repossessed single-unit detached family home, townhouse or condominium. The ADOH has allocated over $20 million to fund the assistance program.

The program was made possible by the funding under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development. The NSP was launched by the Obama Administration as part of its efforts to help stabilize communities hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.

Arizona was ranked the fourth state with the highest foreclosure rate in April. According to market data, one in every 164 homeowners received a foreclosure filing last month.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Realtors said that the average sales price of existing houses in Tucson dropped to $176,000, from $221,000 last year.

The 20 percent decline in the median home price in Tucson was less than 50 percent of the 42 percent drop in sales price in the Phoenix metropolitan area where prices languished at $129,000.

The drastic drop in median sales prices in major cities in Arizona was attributed to the increase in the number of bank foreclosed house in the real estate market.

Assistance for Buying Arizona Bank Foreclosed House is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

In addition, there was also 44 percent increase in year-over-year foreclosure activity, with one filing for every 178 homes. Fort Lauderdale topped the list of metropolitan cities with the highest foreclosures with 18,316 filings. This figure is 17.7 percent more last August.

On the other hand, Miami placed at the 13th spot with 14,050 foreclosure filings. It was a 7.93 percent drop from the previous quarter but a 37.3 percent increase from last year. Palm Beach came in at the 19th spot with 7,515 filings, up by 5.25 percent compared to the second quarter and 65.3 percent from the third quarter of last year.

The good news is ? national foreclosure rate for September declined by about 12 percent compared to August, with one filing for every 475 homes. Comparing it to last year, the foreclosure activity across the nation actually jumped by 21 percent.

According to the online marketer, the 12 percent decline can be attributed to the numerous state laws which were passed to slow down the foreclosure crisis. There were states that required lenders to notify the troubled borrowers several times before proceeding with a foreclosure filing while there were states that extended the number of months a distressed homeowner can negotiate with their lenders.

Last October 3, a $700 billion bailout program was approved to address the crisis in the financial market, which is tied to the housing industry. Despite this, experts and analysts are still worried that the collapse in the finance sector will result to more houses for sale.

Florida Grabs Second Spot for Highest Foreclosures is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

Janet Napolitano, Arizona’s governor said that the funding received would further help Arizona tackle the foreclosure problem and help repair affected neighborhoods. She was one of the governors who had urged President Bush to show support to the bill. Programs currently running in Arizona to help reduce Arizona foreclosure listings are to receive support by the new bill, besides the funding that will be provided to launch new schemes for the housing sector, the office also said.

Various programs have already been launched in Arizona to address the problems of the housing sector. The governor has been conferring with loan servicers and lenders to discuss ways of helping families from Arizona avoid foreclosures.

A toll free hot-line has been launched where local counselors trained specifically in foreclosure related matters will speak to people with foreclosure issues. A state legislation has been signed in order to regulate and provide licenses to loan originating personnel.

Representatives of the government, along with leaders of the community, lenders and more than a hundred and twenty five organizations have come together to form the Arizona Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, which will put in efforts to reach out to and educate people who are part of the growing number of foreclosures in the state.

An increase in funding for the Emergency Housing and Eviction Prevention program has been made. This program helps families facing hard times on a one time basis, providing funds for utility aid, payments for mortgage or rent and deposits for housing.

Additional resources have been added to the Housing Trust Fund which will finance training programs for counseling in foreclosures across Arizona and efforts to reach out to areas that have been hit the hardest. The bill passed by President Bush will help the program to continue.

Arizona Foreclosure Listings – Authority Speaks is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

Arizona has been recording very high number of foreclosure auctions and July has been no different. July witnessed an increase that has lead to, one out of every 20 mortgage borrowers in Arizona behind by at least 30 days on their payments. But that?s not all. Adding to the existing woes of the residents of Arizona are the declining prices of distressed residential properties, mounting Arizona foreclosure listings, and a slow construction scenario. All combined together have pushed Arizona foreclosure rates to dizzying heights (no pun intended)!

Perhaps that?s why Foreclosure listings in Arizona have been a favorite haunt of not just real estate brokers and lenders but also real estate investors and first time homebuyers.

In June, one per every 201 Arizona households was facing various stages of foreclosure. This figure is 2.5 times the country average for foreclosures. Almost 13,000 foreclosure filings were reported from various parts of Arizona. Though this is almost a percent down from May, it is still 127% more from June last year.

The Arizona foreclosure lists are packed with all types of residential properties from almost all cities in the State including Maricopa and Phoenix Counties, where value of homes dropped by 25% but foreclosures increased by six times. According to the CEO of RealtyStore, Tim Chin, Arizona’s residential property prices will continue to fall through the year 2008 and may tend to stabilize only post the 2nd quarter of 2009.

And, with a glut of discounted foreclosures flooding the real estate market in Arizona, both the online foreclosure experts and brokers are hoping that Arizona foreclosure listings will attract more and more investors to carry the market from it current state to a better and more hopeful position.

Arizona Foreclosure Listings Offer A Wide Choice Of Foreclosures As Arizona Posts Top State Foreclosure Rates is a post from: Listings Foreclosures