DQNews Archived Article

California Foreclosures Down

by Real Estate Analyst John Karevoll
October, 1997

La Jolla, CA.— The number of California homeowners going into foreclosure declined again September to the lowest level since mid 1995, the result of higher home prices and increased sales, a real estate information service reported.

Formal foreclosure proceedings were started on 10,232 homeowners in September. That was down 3.9 percent from 10,645 for August, and down 16.4 percent from 12,240 for September last year, according to DataQuick Information Systems.

September's number was the lowest since 9,998 homes went into foreclosure in July 1995. An all-time high was reached in March 1996 when 15,475 homeowners got Notices of Default in the mail.

"Foreclosure activity has always been a lagging indicator, reflecting one and two-year-old economic distress. The price increases of the last half year haven't affected the statistics yet, we expect foreclosures to drop another fifty percent by spring," said Mike Ela, DataQuick president.

The decline in foreclosure activity is most apparent in Southern California, which had the nastiest problem at its peak. Current foreclosure activity in Ventura, Orange and San Diego counties is at a five-year low.

Foreclosure activity in the Central Valley is flat, while it's down moderately in the rest of the state.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide, and provides information to consumers, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

Foreclosure homes were a large part of for-sale inventory a year ago, dragging price levels down significantly in many neighborhoods. The negative effect is in diminishing and foreclosure homes now sell for 3-4 percent less than their open market counterparts, down from over 10 percent two years ago, DataQuick reported.

Source: DataQuick Information Systems

Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534

Copyright © 1997 DataQuick Information Systems.
All rights reserved.

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