- Religious leaders condemn "anti-Muslim" frenzy
- Firm can't fire man for 1.8 cent theft
- Obama pitches road spending, tax incentives in Ohio | Video
- Boeing not ruling out merger with rival
- U.S. religious leaders condemn "anti-Muslim" frenzy | Video
- Gold nears record as economy bears circle markets
- German party mistakenly hands out porn pens to kids
- Pressure mounts in U.S. against Koran-burning plan | Video
- HP sues to stop ex-CEO Hurd joining Oracle
- China Mobile falls as Vodafone sells $6.5 billion stake
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. NASDAQ delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.
Economy weighs on midterms
Tough economic times and aggressive campaigning by the Republicans weigh heavy on President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. Follow Reuters for complete analysis, opinion and polls ahead of the November midterm elections. Full Coverage
Foreclosures up in 75 percent of top U.S. metro areas
A foreclosed home is seen in Bullhead City, Arizona, November 4, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Foreclosures rose in 3 of every four large U.S. metro areas in this year's first half, likely ruling out sustained home price gains until 2013, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
Unemployment was the main culprit driving foreclosure actions on more than 1.6 million properties, the company said.
"We're not going to see meaningful, sustainable home price appreciation while we're seeing 75 percent of the markets have increases in foreclosures," RealtyTrac senior vice president Rick Sharga said in an interview.
Foreclosure actions -- which include notice of default, scheduled auction and repossession -- in the first half rose in 154 of the 206 metro areas with populations 200,000 or more.
"We're not going to see real price appreciation probably until 2013," said Sharga. "We don't see a double dip in housing but we think it's going to be a long painful recovery for the next three years."
Nine of the 10 areas slammed hardest by the foreclosure tidal wave improved from the first half of 2009, suggesting a peak at rates that are still up to five times the national average, RealtyTrac said in its midyear 2010 metropolitan foreclosure report.
Cities with the 20 highest foreclosure rates were all in Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona.
As long as unemployment hovers near 10 percent and unrelenting foreclosures hang over the market, prices cannot stage a lasting comeback. Home prices are about 29 percent lower, on average, than peaks set four years ago.
"If unemployment remains persistently high and foreclosure prevention efforts only delay the inevitable, then we could continue to see increased foreclosure activity and a corresponding weakness in home prices in many metro areas," RealtyTrac chief executive James J. Saccacio said in a statement.
Home prices rose in May for the second month, still propped up by the crush of demand for homebuyer tax credits that ended April 30, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller indexes.
But that momentum will not last, economists agree.
Unemployment and wage cuts are chipping away at confidence and could slice average prices as much as 10 percent before a gradual climb resumes, many housing experts predict.
Sharga said the recent nominal price increases suggest that lenders so far have managed the distressed property flow well and buyers are bidding for those houses when they do get listed for sale.
Banks will take over at least a record 1 million mortgages this year, RealtyTrac estimated earlier this month, noting that more than 5 million loans are seriously delinquent and face foreclosure.
More than 3 million households are seen getting at least one foreclosure notice this year, and this record will be surpassed slightly at the peak of next year, RealtryTrac expects.
Las Vegas had the country's highest metro foreclosure rate in the first half of the year, with 6.6 percent of its housing units, or one in 15, getting a filing. The number of properties getting a notice, however, fell 9 percent from the same period last year.
With unemployment still rising (yes, it is… the government figures LIE), foreclosures-to-date are only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
There is an absolute glut of houses and condos on the market, and EVEN at “short sale” prices, they just sit there for months on end.
It’s going to get a LOT worse, before or even IF it gets better.
For Las Vegas, 2013 for recovery is screaming optimism. Whole subdivisions of town-homes sit empty on the west side. If the Dems lose congress, Harry Reid’s supply of pulled pork will get wacked and what little is keeping that place alive will evaporate.
As many have already said, the recession/depression is getting worse. A recovery is not on the horizon and the short term economy looks very gloom. All of the attempts to paint a positive picture of the economy is nothing more that political propaganda and everyone with an IQ above 75 recognizes it.
all those lovely houses lying empty and gathering dust when it could be a home for the millions of desperate peasants willing to work for it. It doesn’t make very good business sense either. The entire nation is hemmoraging lost revenues.
the economy is just a mutually shared illusion, frigile and delicately balanced. so is our entire society. once it reaches a point where it cannot re-balance itself…
Get rid if Harry Reid and the other democrat scum in NV and I will but a house in LV.
“recent nominal price increases suggest that lenders so far have managed the distressed property flow well and buyers are bidding for those houses when they do get listed for sale”. That is correct. I am looking for a house in MA for the last 1 month with pre-approval and see almost all the good properties listed in my town have mutually accepted offers. Yes, they have mutually accepted offers on the second day of listing at the full asking price, open only for back up offers. Looks like they are getting sold privately. The known web sites like realtors.com, trulia, zillow etc. do not get updated records until the property is officially sold. The houses with known drwabacks/issues are still available for sale.
This appears to just be another suggestive, alarmist opinion piece instead of a factual news article. Could it be an election year again? A lot of statistics, one quoted source, and several unsubstantiated claims of “truths”.
