Foreclosures down 29 percent for first half of 2011

RealtyTrac recently released its Midyear 2011 Foreclosure Market Report which found foreclosure filings for the first six months of 2011, while up 4 percent from May, were down 29 percent from the reported number in June 2010.

The total foreclosure filings for the second quarter was the lowest quarterly total since the fourth quarter of 2007, according to the survey. But J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, said that the drop in foreclosure activity is not a definite sign of an improving economy.

"Processing and procedural delays are pushing foreclosures further and further out- we estimate as many as 1 million foreclosure actions that should have taken place in 2011 will now happen in 2012, or perhaps even later," Saccacio said. "This casts an ominous shadow over the housing market, where recovery is unlikely to happen until the current and forthcoming inventory of distressed properties can be whittled down to a manageable number."

The S&P/Case-Shiller Index of 20 cities showed prices have fallen 33 percent from July 2006 to April 2010, illustrating the lack of consumer confidence in the housing market.

Nicolas Retsinans, professor of real estate at Harvard Business School, told Bloomberg, "If you accept the premise that foreclosures are the black cloud hanging over the market, we're not going to get price stability and people won't leave the sidelines until that cloud is cleared away."

According to the RealtyTrac report, 5 percent of all Nevada housing properties received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of 2011, the highest in the nation. Other high ranking foreclosure rates for the six month period include Arizona with 2.8 percent of its housing units, California at 1.9 percent and Colorado at 1.19 percent.  

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