August 14, 2008
So the big news is that Utah has climbed up to ninth nationally in
foreclosures according to
Realty Trac.com. The interesting thing is that even though it ranks ninth for states, the foreclosure filings per house was still below the national average. In Utah 1 out of every 472 homes had a foreclosure filing. The national average for July was 1 out of every 464 households.
The way Realty Trac keeps trac of foreclosure filings is very interesting. It counts notices of default, notices of trustee sales, and new bank owned homes as “foreclosures.” With this method, the same property could be counted as a “foreclosure” three different months. Foreclosure isn’t an event, but is a process. Generally the Notice of Default is given after three or four months of missed payments, the Notice of Trustees Sale is at about month 8, and if the property isn’t purchased the foreclosure auction, becomes a REO home. Most properties that get a notice of default don’t actually Foreclose. Some homeowners have multiple notices of default as they resolve the preforeclosure before it actually happens.
The RealtyTrac numbers show that In July, Utah had 892 Notices of Default filed and 687 Trustees Sales scheduled. There were also 332 new REO homes. The total number of these filings was up 27% compared to June, and up 294% from last July when foreclosures in Utah were among the lowest in the nation.
In my opinion, foreclosures will continue to rise in Utah. There were too many people who bought homes that they can’t afford because they were convinced that they would continue to appreciate in double digits. Now that home values are falling, these owners have no equity and can’t sell their home in the soft market. Nationally foreclosures are still on the rise, and the housing boom in many of these areas happened years ago. Hang on for a ride as Utah foreclosures will likely continue to increase.
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Foreclosures, Home Sales Stats '08 | Tagged: Foreclosures, notice of default, trustee sales, reos | 
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Posted by Atrain
July 26, 2008
According to Realty Trac, Foreclosures in Utah more than doubled during the second quarter. Last year at this time Utah had the lowest rate of foreclosure. During the second quarter of this year Utah ranked 14th nationally for foreclosure filings. Even though it ranks 14th as a state, the actual number of foreclosure filings is substantially below the national average. Utah had a foreclosure filing for 1 in every 226 households vs. the national average of 1 in every 171 households.
The foreclosures filings in Utah has largely increased because home values have gone down this year. People with financial difficulties last year almost always had equity in their homes, because of the rapid appreciation of real estate values. They were able to sell their homes or postpone the foreclosure by refinancing when they were no longer able to make payments. Now the majority of people facing foreclosure don’t have enough equity to pay the usual selling costs, and homes just aren’t selling very fast right now.
St. George had the worst rate of foreclosures in Utah, 1 in every 86 households. This isn’t a big surprise as its real estate market jumped the same time the Las Vegas Real Estate market did. Currently 1 in every 35 Las Vegas Homes had a foreclosure filing. The Provo/Orem Metro beat the national average, and lead northern Utah with foreclosure filings in 1 out of every 163 Utah County Homes.
For more information on National Q2 foreclosure stats visit Realty Trac Foreclosure Report
2 Comments | Foreclosures, Home Sales Stats '08, Utah Economy | Tagged: foreclosure filings, Foreclosures, q2, utah | Permalink
Posted by Atrain
July 3, 2008
Depending on your interest rate, you will pay 2-3 times your mortgage amount over the life of a 30 year fixed mortgage. The principle is simple, if you pay extra principal on your mortgage, your mortgage length and the amount of interest you pay will be drastically reduced. Most people understand that by paying extra principal early you will literally save years and tens of thousands in interest. The hard part is the discipline and motivation to actually do it.
Last week Ernst and Young honored United First Financial, U-First, as one of the Entrepreneurs of the year. Basically, they developed a software and system to help you better manage your finances and pay off your mortgage loan or other debt early. The software is apparently really easy to use and helps give the coaching and discipline needed to become truly debt free. In the uncertain financial times we’re in, people should probably learn to rely a little less on debt.
Find out more information about U-First, the Money Merger Account, and if it is right for you.
1 Comment | Foreclosures, Home Loans, Utah Economy | Tagged: united first, mortgage term, debt elimination, money merger account | Permalink
Posted by Atrain
April 19, 2008
According to the Pew Charitable Trust, 1 in 25 Utah homes are predicted to be in some stage of foreclosure during the next two years. Nearly 25% of all home loans given during Utah’s housing boom in 2005 and 2006 were given to subprime borrowers. Nationally, about 1 out of 10 subprime loans have experienced atleast the initial stages of foreclosure.
If these stats hold accurate it could have a severely negative impact on the Utah housing market and the economy. Utah’s previous high foreclosure rate was 2% in 2002. This would be double that amount.
On the positive, if Utah does receive a huge flux in the rate of foreclosures, housing prices will likely decline as inventory of available homes for sale will rise. This is also positive news for real estate investors looking for deals and ways to take advantage of distressed homeowners who may actually have equity.
Increased foreclosures further justify the recent changes the lending industry has made in required down payments and required documentation and credit status for getting mortgage loans. As many properties that are in distress are upside down with the recent decline in housing values along much of the Wasatch Front, banks will need to allow more short sales and loan modifications to reduce foreclosures.
This prediction also could prove to be completely inaccurate, and number of foreclosures will only slightly increase in Utah. All in all, this just the news of possible foreclosures in Utah gives a decrease in buyer confidence for the average potential home buyer. Buyers on the edge will not make the plunge if they believe that the value of the new property they will purchase will decline. It’s a buyers market in most of Utah, and when the interest rate is good real estate will still be a good long term investment.
3 Comments | Foreclosures, Home Buying, Utah Economy | Tagged: Foreclosures, predictions, short sales, utah | Permalink
Posted by Atrain
