California Foreclosures Decline
August 13, 2002
La Jolla, CA.--Foreclosure activity in California declined
to its lowest level in more than a decade last quarter, the
result of a robust real estate market and strong appreciation
rates.
Lending institutions started foreclosure proceedings on
18,144 homeowners during the April-to-June period. That was down
22.5 percent from 23,406 for the first quarter, and down 7.0
percent from 19,514 for the same three-month period last year,
according to DataQuick Information Systems.
Last quarter's number was the lowest since DataQuick started
monitoring default notices in 1992. The all-time high occurred
during first-quarter 1996 when 44,665 defaults were recorded. A
Notice of Default is the first step of the formal foreclosure
process.
"As odd as it sounds, today's numbers are somewhat low.
They'll go up a bit as appreciation rates level off, which we
expect will happen before the end of the year. Right now anybody
who's in financial trouble has no problem refinancing, or selling
the home for more than enough to pay the mortgage off," said Mike
Ela, DataQuick's president.
The median price of a California home was $265,000 last
quarter, up 17.3 percent from $226,000 last year. The year-over-year increase was the strongest since the late 1980s.
Three-fourths of the homeowners in default were able to stop
the foreclosure process. In the mid 1990s only half the
distressed homeowners were able to do that.
DataQuick, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based MacDonald
Dettwiler and Associates, monitors real estate activity
nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational
institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title
companies and industry analysts.
A total of 4,477 Trustees Deeds were recorded on homes last
quarter. A Trustees Deed is the final step of the foreclosure
process, meaning that the lending institutions took those
properties back. Last quarter's number was down 17.2 percent from
5,409 a year ago and the lowest since 4,182 were recorded during
third-quarter 1991, DataQuick reported.
Tulare, Madera and Fresno counties had the highest relative
foreclosure rates, while Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo
counties had the lowest, DataQuick reported.
In addition to low foreclosure activity, there is
unremarkable activity among other market stress indicators
including loan-to-value ratios, seller financing and other
unconventional financing usage, shifts in market mix, turnover
rates and non-owner occupancy rates, DataQuick reported.
Notices of Default
recorded on residential property
April to June
|
County |
2Q01 |
2Q02 |
%Chg |
| Los Angeles |
5,920 |
5,370 |
-9.3% |
|
Orange County |
885 |
862 |
-2.7% |
|
San Diego |
851 |
865 |
1.6% |
|
Riverside |
1,408 |
1,441 |
2.3% |
|
San Bernardino |
2,049 |
1,642 |
-19.9% |
|
Ventura |
329 |
322 |
-2.2% |
|
Southern California Total |
11,442 |
10,501 |
-8.2% |
|
San Francisco |
105 |
124 |
17.3% |
|
Alameda |
598 |
744 |
24.4% |
|
Contra Costa |
634 |
615 |
-3.0% |
|
Santa Clara |
513 |
632 |
23.2% |
|
San Mateo |
164 |
190 |
15.3% |
|
Marin |
62 |
90 |
43.8% |
|
Solano |
287 |
262 |
-8.8% |
|
Sonoma |
131 |
150 |
14.5% |
|
Napa |
33 |
49 |
46.7% |
|
Bay Area Total |
2,527 |
2,853 |
12.9% |
|
Santa Cruz |
68 |
79 |
15.8% |
|
Santa Barbara |
174 |
110 |
-36.5% |
|
San Luis Obispo |
95 |
67 |
-30.0% |
|
Monterey |
124 |
102 |
-17.9% |
|
Coast Total |
461 |
357 |
-22.4% |
|
Sacramento |
1,120 |
961 |
-14.2% |
|
San Joaquin |
516 |
602 |
16.6% |
|
Placer |
181 |
171 |
-5.2% |
|
Kern |
734 |
611 |
-16.8% |
|
Fresno |
1,020 |
808 |
-20.8% |
|
Madera |
210 |
138 |
-34.2% |
|
Merced |
126 |
146 |
16.2% |
|
Tulare |
658 |
458 |
-30.4% |
|
Yolo |
102 |
72 |
-29.7% |
|
El Dorado |
52 |
89 |
70.8% |
|
Stanislaus |
366 |
377 |
3.0% |
|
Inland Total |
5,084 |
4,433 |
-12.8% |
| |
|
All California |
19,514 |
18,144 |
-7.0% |
|
|
Source: DataQuick Information Systems
Media Inquiries: John Karevoll (909)867-9534