Home
News
Home foreclosures nationally are expected to outpace 2009 totals, though western Nevada County homeowners are faring better than homeowners statewide and nationally.
More than 1 million American households, or one in every 78 homeowners, are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year, according to San Diego-based tracking firm RealtyTrac. In Nevada County, the number drops to one in every 217 homeowners, RealtyTrac's figures stated.
“Our local market is unique,” said Kathy Hinman, Executive of the Nevada County Association of Realtors. “We're a destination market for a lot of retirees, so our numbers are different than really anywhere else.”
In western Nevada County foreclosures made up about 29 percent of single family home sales in Nevada County over the first half of the year, according to the Nevada County Association of Realtors. That number is below the state average of 41 percent.
Foreclosures outpaced short sales, which accounted for 16 percent of all sales in western county, according to the association.
Short sales, which actually became a long, drawn out processes, may become more attractive to banks under the new federal financial reform law which passed Congress Thursday, said Scott St. John with American Pacific Mortgage. The new regulations may encourage banks to move more quickly on short sales rather than allow them to become foreclosures, St. John said.
“Short sales were painstakingly slow,” St. John said.
Nationally, nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of the year. If foreclosures continue at that rate, the yearly number would eclipse the more than 900,000 homes repossessed in 2009, according to RealtyTrac.
“That would be unprecedented,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.
Lenders have historically taken over about 100,000 homes a year, he said.
The surge in foreclosures reflects a crisis that has shown signs of leveling off in recent months but remains a crippling drag on the housing market and the economy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.
More than 1 million American households, or one in every 78 homeowners, are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year, according to San Diego-based tracking firm RealtyTrac. In Nevada County, the number drops to one in every 217 homeowners, RealtyTrac's figures stated.
“Our local market is unique,” said Kathy Hinman, Executive of the Nevada County Association of Realtors. “We're a destination market for a lot of retirees, so our numbers are different than really anywhere else.”
In western Nevada County foreclosures made up about 29 percent of single family home sales in Nevada County over the first half of the year, according to the Nevada County Association of Realtors. That number is below the state average of 41 percent.
Foreclosures outpaced short sales, which accounted for 16 percent of all sales in western county, according to the association.
Short sales, which actually became a long, drawn out processes, may become more attractive to banks under the new federal financial reform law which passed Congress Thursday, said Scott St. John with American Pacific Mortgage. The new regulations may encourage banks to move more quickly on short sales rather than allow them to become foreclosures, St. John said.
“Short sales were painstakingly slow,” St. John said.
Nationally, nearly 528,000 homes were taken over by lenders in the first six months of the year. If foreclosures continue at that rate, the yearly number would eclipse the more than 900,000 homes repossessed in 2009, according to RealtyTrac.
“That would be unprecedented,” said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac.
Lenders have historically taken over about 100,000 homes a year, he said.
The surge in foreclosures reflects a crisis that has shown signs of leveling off in recent months but remains a crippling drag on the housing market and the economy.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. To contact Staff Writer Kyle Magin, e-mail kmagin@theunion.com or call (530) 477-4239.
