February 16, 2011 (Jeff Alan)
ForeclosureRadar is reporting that foreclosure auction sales along the West Coast has jumped back up to levels not seen since before the “robo-signing” moratoriums of last fall. ForeclosureRadar, which tracks foreclosure sales in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, reports that it recorded significant increases in all five states in the month of January.
“We have not seen this level of activity on the courthouse steps for months,” said Sean O’Toole, CEO and founder of ForeclosureRadar. “The increase in foreclosures is just in time to provide a fresh supply of entry level homes for the spring home buying season.”
Data showed that in Arizona, foreclosure sales skyrocketed in January compared to December, 2010, with a 56.2 increase in homes that went back to the bank and a 52.7 increase in sales to third parties.
In California, there was a 51.5 percent increase in sales going back to the bank in January compared to December, and 52.8 percent more properties purchased by third parties. After a four month decline, notice of default filings rose by 6.9 percent in January versus December.
Nevada saw a 36.8 percent increase in homes taken back by the banks in January compared to December, while foreclosure sales to third parties jumped 43.8 percent. There were more third party sales in January than any other single month in 2010.
Homes taken back by the banks in Oregon increased 33.4 percent in January, while sales to third parties skyrocketed 70 percent from December.
And in Washington, the number of homes that went back to banks climbed 54 percent and those sold to third parties increased 23 percent when compared to December.
In Arizona, both banks and third parties bought more properties in January 2011 than any other single month since ForeclosureRadar began tracking foreclosure sales in Arizona. And despite the increase in foreclosure sales in Oregon, year over year sales are down 39 percent from January 2010.
“Despite months of slow sales, we’ve simply returned to prior levels, which to me indicates banks remain reluctant to aggressively foreclose,” O’Toole added.
Tags: foreclosures, foreclosureradar, auction sales, west coast, California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Washington
