According to a report issued August 25, Tolleson and Litchfield Park in Arizona were hit hardest by foreclosure crisis in the first half of 2008, when compared to the same period in 2007. Find Arizona Foreclosure Listings right now, or read on.

“Among Maricopa County cities, Tolleson led with the largest percentage increase in foreclosures and pre-foreclosures during the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2007.

“Foreclosures in Tolleson were more than 600 percent higher while more than 300 percent more foreclosure notices were handed out. There were 352 foreclosures in Tolleson from January through June, compared with 46 for the same time last year.

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Source: “Tolleson, Litchfield Park have highest foreclosure increase” by Grayson Steinberg for the Arizona Republic. Copyright 2008.

5 new rules for home buyers

Rule 1: You can’t time the bottom

Rule 2: One reason to buy now – mortgage rates

Rule 3: Another reason to buy – rates on big mortgages

Rule 4: Don’t buy cheap; buy good schools

Rule 5: Make sure your agent has your interest at heart

Cited from Money Magazine

…. and don’t forget …

Rule 6: BUY A HOME IN FORECLOSURE

Single-family Home Prices Tumble in March – Reuters

By Joanne Morrison

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Prices of U.S. single-family homes plunged a record 14.4 percent in March from a year earlier, while consumer confidence slumped to its lowest in 16 years in May as gasoline prices surged.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas released on Tuesday showed prices of previously owned homes fell 2.2 percent in March, deepening their year-on-year decline.

Separately, the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index slumped to 57.2 this month from 62.8 in April as rising gasoline costs and falling home prices made Americans increasingly nervous both about current conditions and the future.

In one positive sign, however, the Commerce Department said sales of newly constructed single-family homes rose in April for the first time in six months, while the inventory of unsold new homes declined for the 12th straight month. But the previous month’s decline was even steeper than first reported.
Joanne talks more about the housing price problem at Reuters

Three Things That Won’t Help End the Foreclosure Crisis

Q1 2008 Nevada Foreclosure Report Released by RealtyStore.com

Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) May 14, 2008 — RealtyStore (www.realtystore.com), the nation’s leading provider of foreclosure listings, released its quarterly Nevada Foreclosure Report.

RealtyStore.com recorded 17,307 notices of default (NODs) statewide for Q1 2008. This was a 32% increase from those recorded in Q4 2007 and a 139% jump over Q1 2007. An NOD is filed by the lending institution, when a homeowner falls behind on mortgage payments. NODs provide important information about which homeowners have home loans they cannot afford. Nevada has maintained the nation’s highest foreclosure rate for nearly two straight years. For Q1 2008, 1 out of every 52 households in Nevada received a default notice, which is more than 7 times the national average.

“For almost two years running, Nevada has been plagued with the highest foreclosure rate in the nation. This is a result of the dramatic increase in speculative building starting in 2004 when home prices soared 47%,” said Tim Chin, CEO of RealtyStore. “Now, as the housing market corrects, investors are running for the hills as inventory mounts and prices rapidly decline.”

More than 90% of the foreclosures in Nevada are occurring in Clark County. Clark County, home of the gaming capital, better known as Las Vegas, started off the first quarter with 15,876 defaults. This was more than double the 6,651 default notices for Q1 of last year. The foreclosure problem in Las Vegas resulted from home buyers gambling on prices continuing to climb. Speculators used adjustable-rate-mortgages (ARMs) and sub-prime loans to get their foot in the door hoping to use the home’s projected appreciation to later refinance under more affordable fixed-rate loans. Unfortunately, the tide turned and Nevada’s housing market has crumbled.

With a huge wave of hybrid ARMs due to reset this spring, many Nevada homeowners will find their payments ballooning by as much as 50%. With property values dropping almost 20% since last year, distressed borrowers will have little opportunity to refinance into more affordable loans. Left to drown in their mortgage payments, an increasing percentage of homeowners will enter the foreclosure process. This will further suppress housing prices as bargain-priced foreclosures take a bigger share of the Nevada home sale market. In Las Vegas, nearly half of all homes currently on the market are foreclosures. With inventory increasing and home sales at their lowest levels in 13 years, the Nevada housing market will get worse before it gets better.

About RealtyStore.com: Founded in 2005, RealtyStore.com is the fastest growing, most trusted provider of foreclosure listings and information in the nation with over 1 million pre-foreclosure, foreclosure auction, bank-owned, and tax sale property listings. Collected from hundreds of public and private sources, RealtyStore’s proprietary database includes extensive property characteristics (including pictures and maps), default and tax information, comparable home values, and neighborhood demographics information. For more information, visit http://www.realtystore.com.

Foreclosure flood: 1,000 auctions per day in California

LA Times reports in April there were one thousand home auctions per day in California. “California’s foreclosure crisis passed another ominous milestone in April, when more than 1,000 foreclosed homes were auctioned off every weekday at courthouses across the state”.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/05/foreclosure-flo.html

New! RealtyStore Foreclosure Blog

Foreclosure flood: 1,000 auctions per day in California – LA Times

According to our California Foreclosure Report, California’s foreclosure activity has increased 38% in the first quarter of 2008. Our California foreclosure statistics is broken by county and shows the change from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008.

U.S. House Approves Democratic Anti-Foreclosure Bill

“The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation to let the government insure up to $300 billion in mortgages to help homeowners avert foreclosure over White House objections the measure would force the government and taxpayers to take on excessive risk.

The House voted 266-154 for the housing package offered by Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank. The measure would have the Federal Housing Administration insure refinanced mortgages after loan holders agree to reduce principal to make payments affordable.”

Read more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aRtzYp_OzosY&refer=home

Foreclosure Website Announces Free Advertising for Real Estate Agents

RealtyStore (www.realtystore.com), the nation’s leading provider of foreclosure listings, today launched its Professional Network to connect Real Estate Professionals with thousands of home buyers actively looking for foreclosed properties. With over a million property page views per month, RealtyStore provides free, targeted exposure for members of the Real Estate Professional Network.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/real/estate/prweb919824.htm

Signing up is quick, easy and, unlike most real estate lead generation tools, it is completely free!
Sign up today – Real Estate Professional Network

Foreclosure Investors: $7000 TAX CREDIT ~ Senate Takes Up $15 billion housing fix

“The proposed measures include funding to help borrowers refinance unaffordable loans and help boost activity in neighborhoods with properties in foreclosure. Also in the bill is a tax break for homebuilders, as well as a new tax credit and deduction for homeowners and home buyers. The package also contains measures to make loans that are insured by the Federal Housing Administration – which helps borrowers with weak credit or little or no cash for a downpayment – more accessible.” Read more:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/02/news/economy/housing_bipartisan_draft/?postversion=2008040320

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If your a real estate agent looking to gain from the foreclosure crises then check out:
Foreclosure Website Announces Free Advertising for Real Estate Agents

If your a homebuyer or investor check out:
RealtyStore – Find Foreclosures in your neighborhood

Check out Foreclosure Investing Guide: Foreclosure Buying and Investing Tutorial and Foreclosure Index Tools

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Former Baseball Star Jose Canseco has California Home Foreclosed

“Jose Canseco, the former AL MVP who made millions during his baseball career, has had his home foreclosed. “Inside Edition” that he walked away from his $2.5 million, 7,300-square foot home in suburban Encino because it didn’t make sense to continue making payments.

I do have a judgment on my home and it to me is very strange because it didn’t make financial sense for me to keep paying a mortgage on a home that was basically owned by someone else,” he said in an interview that aired Thursday.

You know my life, this financial thing, is a very complicated issue. Obviously, when you make all that money, people think, `OK, let’s assume it is $35 million.’ People have to understand that $35 million, you’re paying the government 41 percent. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you’re taking care of your whole family.”

Yahoo, AP News http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080502/ap_on_sp_ba_ne/bbo_canseco_foreclosure