U.S. Foreclosures May Increase 20% in 2011 to Reach Peak

U.S. homes that will go into foreclosure will climb around 20% to reach a peak number in 2011, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac's senior vice president, told Bloomberg, "We will peak in foreclosures and probably bottom out in pricing, and that's what we need to do in order to begin the recovery. But it's probably not going to feel good in the process."

In 2010, a record 2.87 million properties received notices of default, auction or reposession, up 2% from a year earlier. The number of foreclosures continued to climb despite a probe into questionable lending practices that saw a plunge in foreclosure filings toward the end of 2010, including a 26% drop in December.

Foreclosures have continued to drag down U.S. home prices. However, according to Fannie Mae, home values may see a rise of 0.6% this year which would be its first annual jump since its peak in 2006, after which prices have fallen by as much as 33%.

Banks seized over 1 million homes in 2010 - up 14% from a year earlier. About 3 million homes have been reposessed since the collapse of the housing market bubble. Sharga says the number could rise to 6 million by 2013 because there are still many homeowners out there who have yet to default on their loans.

He said, "What makes this almost inevitable is the fact there are 5 million seriously delinquent loans not yet in foreclosure. They've got to eventually get in the pipeline unless the homeowners cure the defaults."

via FinancialNewsOnline

US foreclosures under scrutiny

US foreclosures under scrutiny


The number of homes being repossessed in the United States fell nationwide this past month, and could fall even further.

But hundreds of thousands of Americans are on the brink of losing their homes, amid accusations that banks have been wrongly handling foreclosures.

The foreclosure crisis began with the recession of 2008, when the US housing bubble burst. Lenders were faced with millions of defaults at once, and lacked the manpower to process all the paperwork.

This contributed to what has become known as "robo-signing", bank staff signing off on repossessions, without properly checking all the documents. Now there is an ongoing legal investigation into foreclosure practices in all fifty states.

And several major financial institutions have temporarily halted thousands of foreclosure proceedings while this is going on.

Al Jazeera's Scott Heidler traveled to the frontlines of the foreclosure crisis, to the city of Portland, Maine, where the allegations first emerged.

Foreclosures on the Rise in Big Cities (28-Oct-10)

Foreclosures on the Rise in Big Cities (28-Oct-10)

Banks foreclose on homes that they dont own

Bank of America forecloses on house that couple had paid cash for

Foreclosures in America - Save the dream

Tens of thousands of people traveled to Washington DC to take part in the Save the Dream Program, sponsored by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, or NACA. NACA helps people facing foreclosure to get a lower rate on their mortgage or a lower interest rate. Some people traveled from across the country, calling this their last home to save their home.

Home Foreclosed by Mistake

Home Mistakenly Foreclosed

Bank incorrectly seizes woman's home

Man Bulldozes His Own Home to Make Banks Think Twice About Foreclosure

Man Bulldozes Own Home to Make Banks Think Twice About Foreclosure

"When I see that I owe $160,000 on almost a $350,000 home and somebody decides they want to take it -- I wasn't gonna stand for that so I took it down." -- Terry Hoskins, Moscow, Ohio