Foreclosure rates continue to climb
The jump in 30-year mortgage rates by more than a half a percentage point since May is putting a crimp on borrowers with the best credit just as a crackdown in subprime lending standards limits the pool of qualified buyers. Foreclosures also are increasing as the supply of unsold homes hit a record 4.43 million in May, according to the National Association of Realtors.
Foreclosure rates in ``most states remained substantially above last year's levels,'' RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James Saccacio said in a statement.
In June, defaults surged 87 percent to 164,644 from a year ago, said RealtyTrac, a seller of foreclosure data, in the statement today. Last month's total was 7 percent lower than in May. California, Florida, Ohio and Michigan accounted for half the national total in June.
Even the most optimistic are now predicting the slump in housing will continue into next year. Worse, the big home builders are cutting their building plans for next year already, as they are all siting on piles of unsold homes and prices are dropping.
Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate in June with one filing for every 175 households, more than four times the national average of one per 704, RealtyTrac said. Nevada had 4,722 foreclosure filings, more than three times its total a year ago.
I would say that is frightening, but from what I understand it is mostly speculators in Vegas taking a bath.
Jay
