Third Quarter Activity Up 3 Percent from Q2 2008, Up 71 Percent from Q3 2007
New State Laws in California, Other States Impact Numbers

 Foreclosure activity has dropped, although still up significantly from last year.  As indicated, the drop in activity is most likely due to legislation aimed at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.  Lenders are encouraging work-outs – such as Short Sales – to avoid taking properties back.  This presents an even better opportunity for us as Investors because lenders are more willing to negotiate Short Sales!

 Oct. 23, 2008 – RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com) released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for September 2008 and Q3 2008. Foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 265,968 properties in September, a 12 percent decrease from the previous month but still a 21 percent increase from September 2007. One in every 475 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in September.

 Foreclosure filings were reported on 765,558 U.S. properties during the third quarter, up more than 3 percent from the second quarter and up 71 percent from the third quarter of 2007.

 “Much of the 12 percent decrease in September can be attributed to changes in state laws that have at least temporarily slowed down the pace at which lenders are moving forward with foreclosures,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Most significantly, SB 1137 in California took effect in early September and requires lenders to make contact with borrowers at least 30 days before filing a Notice of Default (NOD). In September we saw California NODs drop 51 percent from the previous month, and that drop had a significant impact on the national numbers given that California accounts for close to one-third of the nation’s foreclosure activity each month. Another example is North Carolina, where legislation was signed into law in August that requires lenders to provide homeowners and the state’s commissioner of banks a 45-day notice prior to filing a Notice of Default. We saw NODs drop 66 percent in North Carolina in September.

“On the other hand, initial foreclosure filings in Massachusetts jumped 465 percent from August to September after being much lower than normal in June, July and August. That temporary lull happened after a new law took effect in May requiring lenders to give homeowners a 90-day right to cure notice before initiating foreclosure. But in September, about 90 days after the law took effect, initial foreclosure notices jumped back up close to the level we were seeing earlier in the year.”

 - From the www.RealtyTrac.com 10-23-08 press release

“Foreclosure Activity Decreases 12 Percent in September”