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For 2010, the number of filings for foreclosure home listings fell in Staten Island, New York. However, market analysts have asserted that the drop in filings compared with 2009 is a misleading development and in no way signifies that the housing industry crisis is over for the island and the whole state.

The number of properties under foreclosure listings in Staten Island and the number of homes that received foreclosure-related filings in 2010 dropped by 22% compared with the previous year. A total of 1,846 filings were posted in the area, down from the 2009 total of 2,361. Defense lawyers and industry observers, however, cautioned that in 2011, foreclosure numbers will start rising again as lenders and their attorneys continue where they left off.

They added that the number of homeowners who are not paying their loans has not gone down and is practically the same number as the one recorded half a year ago. Analysts explained that the drop is partly due to banks being more cautious in issuing filings for New York foreclosure listings following the documentation controversy that grabbed the headlines in the last quarter of 2010.

As a result of the controversy, judges in the region have become more vigorous in requiring lenders' lawyers to present documentation proving that their clients are the owners of the mortgage and that there is enough legal reason to issue a foreclosure home listings filing. The stricter rules that were put in place following allegations that lenders are using faulty affidavits in their foreclosure filings resulted in a huge decrease in December 2010 filings for the borough.

In December of last year, Staten Island posted a 65% decline in total number of filings compared with December 2009. The drop in the number of foreclosure filings and repossessed homes was also felt in New York areas that traditionally have high foreclosure volumes like Suffolk County, Brooklyn and Queens. Analysts stated that the decline in the last part of 2010 is only a temporary lull.

Most housing experts expect the number of properties entering foreclosure home listings to surge back up in 2011 as lenders and their lawyers become more used to the tighter rules. Those foreclosures that were put on hold due to the controversy are also likely to come into play in 2011, analysts added.

Industry experts are advising distressed homeowners in South Carolina to seek help now to save their distressed properties from being placed on listings of foreclosed houses. Funding for the Family Services Inc., an agency based in North Charleston that serves as the state’s conduit for mortgage counseling services, is expected to run out before the year ends.

The agency has been receiving federal grants to be used for foreclosure counseling. However, the increasing unemployment rate and mortgage defaults in the state are taking its toll on the agency’s funding.

Recently, the agency received $775,000 emergency funds, about 50 percent of what it usually receives. According to the agency, it needs to apply for more federal money and to find other fund sources in order to continue offering free mortgage counseling services to distressed homeowners who want to save their properties from listings of foreclosed houses.

Debbie Kidd of the Family Services said that the current situation is nerve-wracking and there is a great possibility that the agency will experience a shortage of funds by early next year. But she still encourages distressed homeowners who are in default and want to save their homes from foreclosures to contact the agency for free counseling help.

The agency uses the federal grant it receives to pay for the 22 foreclosure counselors on its staff. These counselors negotiate for reduced mortgage payments for struggling borrowers. Since 2007, the agency has already helped about 6,130 troubled borrowers across South Carolina.

Mayor Joe Riley said that many homeowners may save their houses from foreclosures and remain in their homes by working out their loan problems through counseling. He added that Family Services is providing good credible honest counseling for free.

Federal lawmakers have issued three rounds of grants for a total of $410 million to help homeowners hurdle the economic downturn and save their homes from foreclosures. The latest round of nearly $48 million funds could be the last federal grant that would be received by foreclosure counseling services for a while.

Homeownership advocacy groups are expecting emergency funding for mortgage counseling programs across the state and the rest of the country to simmer down as the overall economy improves. However, the groups are expecting foreclosures to continue to be serious problem in Charleston for the next two years.

On its part, Family Services plans to advocate for additional funding to continue providing assistance to homeowners who want to save their properties from listings of repossessed houses.

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.

The Federal Reserve has announced it would extend to the middle of next year its Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facilities to help the struggling commercial real estate industry. The TALF program would have expired this December 31.

The pace of multifamily and commercial property lending slowed down in the second quarter, compared to the second quarter last year, but increased compared to the first quarter of 2009, based on a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The cry of homeowners struggling with the foreclosed home crisis has definitely touched a lot of Democratic senators as shown in their open letter addressed to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has lowered its previously announced home loan refinancing forecast despite expectations of increased refinancing under President Obama’s repo property prevention program.

The unemployment problem has been hindering the progress of the government foreclosures program, according to housing analysts, economists and foreclosure counselors.

A free workshop for distressed homeowners who want to avoid repossession houses will be sponsored by the Lafayette Neighborhood Housing Services (LNHS) in Indiana.

Like a monster, the foreclosure crisis reared its ugly head once again in South Florida as it prepares to add the shopping center Parkland Commons on its REO property listings. The Bank of America has filed foreclosure proceedings against Broward County-based shopping center, Parkland Commons and its developers MPG Parkland and Prestige Group President Charles H. Monroe III.