According to the Commerce Department, the 11-percent monthly increase was far above the 3-percent increase predicted by economists for June new home sales. The adjusted annual pace of new home sales in June increased to 384,000 units, the highest level reached since November last year.

However, compared to new home sales in June last year, June sales this year marked a 21-percent drop. Sales of newly built homes are still being battered by the low prices of units in repo homes, New homes now stay in the market for almost one year before they are sold. In 2007, new homes stayed in the market for only about 6 months.

Economists say that despite the monthly rise in new home sales in June, the housing sector is still not recovering as expected.

In the Northeast, sales of newly built homes declined by 11 percent compared to sales in June 2008. In the West, new home sales fell by 10 percent while in the Southern States, new homes sales dropped by more than 33 percent. Only the Midwest experienced a rise in new home sales, with an increase rate of 6 percent.

While new home sales increased in June, their median price continued to decline, falling from $232,000 in June 2008 to $206,200 this June.

Economists expect new home prices to continue with their downward slide because of construction supply costs, competition from repo homes lists and low demand from potential new-home buyers.

MFR chief economist Joshua Shapiro said prices of newly built homes will continue to hover in the lower levels, especially in the upper price ranges.

Similarly, 4Cast senior economist David Sloan said that market recovery will be modest because of lack of improvements in consumer income levels.

According to economists, despite the rise in new-home sales for three months in 2009, the continued increase in unemployment rates, the lack of increase in wages and the tightness in home lending will drive the continued growth of repo homes lists and continued difficulties in the housing sector in the last months of 2009.

New Home Sales Rose Amidst Repo Homes Lists is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

But the U.S. Foreclosure Index for the second quarter showed a drop in the number of properties on repo home listings. Foreclosures dropped 11 percent to 205,301 from the first quarter of 2009. Industry experts are not sure what triggered the nationwide foreclosure decline last month, whether it is because of the moratorium, the government bailout or the loan modification program of the Obama Administration.

But in Clark County, California, the foreclosure numbers were less upbeat as they rose to 2,686 last month compared with 2,397 in May. Last month?s figures were also below previous June?s foreclosures when 2,867 properties were on repo home listings.

Meanwhile, June preforeclosure filings, including notices of default and foreclosure auction, declined drastically to 5,443 from the peak of 8,107 the previous month. The figures were higher from the 5,103 posted the same month last year.

For the first half of this year, the total foreclosure in Clark County jumped to a whopping 23,588 from last year?s 12,800. Furthermore, preforeclosures also rose by 34.8 percent or 47,467 units from last year?s 30,922.

Meanwhile, nationwide data showed that preforeclosures dropped by 10 percent from April to June to 494,078, with Midwest showing the largest decline by 42 percent.

However, some industry experts caution against reading too much from the foreclosure declines posted in the second quarter. They said that the current trend is just a temporary lag, citing the 10,000 to 20,000 distressed properties that banks have been intentionally holding off the market. The number of REO homes in all property listings dropped from 51 percent in January to about 39 percent in June.

But what really bothers some industry experts was the increase in the number of short sale deals. Some experts find the trend disturbing considering the deteriorating employment market and poor performance of economic indicators.

They warned that the foreclosure problem is far from over as banks are expected to unload their inventory of REO properties on repo home listings.

Repo Home Listings Up in June is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

Brookings Institute’s national study tracked various economic indicators in the country’s 100 biggest metropolitan areas.
According to the study, McAllen is the only city across the country that experience growth in the total value of services and goods during the first three months of this year, when recession was at its all-time low. The study tracked the performance of various economic indicators in 100 biggest metropolitan areas in the country.

The study showed that while there was no city that has not been affected by the economic downfall, recessional problems have been distributed unevenly across major cities in the country.

Brookings Institute researcher Howard Wile said that the effect of the economic recession in different areas suggests that they have different needs. He added that cities that have been severely affected by the recession need additional state funds.

The study monitored major cities? unemployment rate, employment, housing prices, gross metropolitan product, wages and the number of repo homes that remained on the market after the auction, to determine the area’s economic strength. Six cities in Texas made it to the top 20 metro areas that have positive economic performance.

Meanwhile , foreclosure home sales in McAllen fell below the previous year’s rate and the number of repossessed home filings continues unabated across the city’s real estate market. But the city’s overall performance is better off than others, indicating that the market is showing some signs of stabilizing.

The city outdid the national average in terms of economic indicator performance, except in unemployment which surged by 10.1 percent in January of this year, then started declining again until in May when it increased by 9.4 percent.

In May, job losses were reported mostly in production and manufacturing sectors while the city’s nonagricultural unemployment rate, inflation-adjusted sales in retail and inflation-adjusted wages continue to fall this year.

On the other hand, housing prices in McAllen increased by 2.3 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with last year. However, overall prices were still lower than their peak prices because of the flood of repossessed home in the area.

Citys Economy Grow Despite Repossessed Homes Woes is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

Now, many are also finding out that nonpayment of homeowners’ association dues could also mean facing the threat of foreclosure.

Most homeowners never thought that neighborhood and condominium associations that mow lawns, oversee security patrol, clean the swimming pool in the community and plant flowers have the right to put their houses on the repo list when they failed to pay their association dues. The right of homeowners’ associations to foreclosure is stated on the purchase contract signed by homeowners.

Dennis Bucher, general manager of Condominium Association of Wildewood Springs in Manatee County, Florida, said 15 out of the 558 condominium units are delayed on their quarterly maintenance fees.

Since the start of this year, the association pool a part of its collected maintenance fees to an operation recovery fund to cover unpaid fees. Bucher pointed out that all association members are paying for few people who are delinquent on their maintenance fees.

In Wildewood Springs, quarterly maintenance fees, which are based on the property’s square footage, can reach to as much as $1,296. According to Bucher, the association’s operation frecovery fund has so far collected nearly $90,000. The fund is used for maintenance operations at the condominium development.

Under Florida statutes, when banks place a condominium or house on repo list, they are not required to pay all unpaid association assessments.

Becker and Poliakoff attorney David Muller said that if homeowners decided to stop paying all their fees, there is a great chance that they will be slapped with a bank foreclosure lawsuit. He added that the financial burden really falls on homeowners who are both paying the mortgages and assessments.

Meanwhile, in California, homeowners’ associations have the right to foreclose on any property within the community after only a year of missing dues or $1,800 in back fees.

But the good news is, most homeowners and condominium associations are helping troubled members create some settlement to avoid putting properties on repo list because of nonpayment of dues.

Nonpayment of Association Dues May Put Homes on Repo List is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

Aside from becoming blights to the neighborhoods and communities in the area, these abandoned and vacant properties have become safety risks to firefighters and nearby residents.

To address the threat brought by these vacant repo properties to neighborhoods and residents and to protect them from further deterioration, the Fire Department has launched a program to go after the owners of these properties to require them to do basic maintenance.

Battalion Chief Michael Stockton said that the department is taking a hard stance because repossession properties are both neighborhood quality and safety issues.

Firefighters in Portsmouth will mark abandoned, unsecured and vacant properties with placards, color coded to warn everyone that they are dangerous properties. Green and yellow placards will indicate a less dangerous property.

Meanwhile, red placards will be placed on most dangerous properties indicating that there are major structural problems and whoever trespasses will be prosecuted.

The Fire Department will then notify owners of repossession properties of structural violations. They will be given a month to repair the structural problems and secure the properties. Owners who failed to comply will be charged with criminal misdemeanor.

The department explained that its decision to go after owners of abandoned and vacant foreclosed properties is a way to ensure the safety of residents and public personnel. The city’s building inspection and code enforcement departments have already taken safety measures on empty properties.

Portsmouth Fire Chief Don Horton pointed out that 3 out of 5 firefighters received injuries in abandoned and vacant properties. He explained before the city council that the placards that would be placed on vacant foreclosed properties would also serve as warning to firefighters not to enter unsafe buildings.

Aside from Portsmouth, the city of Norfolk also started securing abandoned and vacant properties in the area to discourage vagrants who will decide to take shelter in them in the winter.

Since 2007, Portsmouth registered about 1,000 abandoned and vacant properties in the area. Stockton said that with the increasing number of repossession properties, the figures are expected to go up to as many as 1,500.

Program to Keep Repossession Properties Safe is a post from: Listings Foreclosures

Large price cuts on properties were reported in cities of Paterson and Newark, while slight reductions were seen in Woodbridge and Edison.

Before the rise in the number of properties on repo home listings, the average price of a home in New Jersey was $517,727. But the foreclosure crisis forced 16,800 homeowners to reduce the prices of their properties on sale for an average of $43,478 per unit. The current average market price of homes on sales listings is $474,249.

Meanwhile, New Jersey cities that have a high number of properties on foreclosure home listings are experiencing the biggest decline in home prices. For example, Newark registered an average 15 percent price decline or $45,628. This indicated that the average listing price of a property in the city is $263,651.

In Edison, listing prices of homes showed a 6 percent drop, resulting to an average price of $356,301 after reduction. On the other hand, Essex County showed the highest reduction in home prices, with 11 percent off the original value.

Real estate agent Donald Fanelli said that these places have the most inventories in repo home listings because they have the highest foreclosure rates in the state. According to Fanelli, he was trying to sell a Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.-owned house which was posted on repo home listings in November with a price tag of $121,000.

However, by March this year, the price of the property dropped to almost $73,000. He attributed the price decline to vandalism, gang activity and theft in the area where the house is located.

He also said that it is difficult to sell a distressed property in the current market because people with a not-so-perfect credit are having difficulty obtaining financing. And those who have the capacity to purchase pay in cash and rent the houses out, Fanelli added.

According to industry experts, the decline in home prices could have a ripple effect on the housing market in a certain area because values are driven by prices at which neighboring houses have been sold.

Economists said that they expect home prices to continue to drop throughout the year if the rise in the number of properties on repo home listings remains unabated.

Rise in Repo Home Listings Reduces Home Prices in NJ is a post from: Listings Foreclosures