Consumer Law

Number Of Delinquent Loans Fall, But Foreclosure Sales Still Slow

By M. Stan Herring

UPI.com has posted an article that discusses how new foreclosures and new home delinquencies are continuing to fall. However, increases in the number of foreclosures being processed and sold on the market are still not enough to offset the sheer number of homes that have been lost to foreclosure and are still vacant.

The average home loans that are in foreclosure have been delinquent for as many as 500 days, according to a report from according to Lender Processor Services. January 2011 saw a slight increase in the number of delinquencies up to 90 days because lenders were moving loans from the foreclosure bracket back into the 'seriously delinquent' bracket. The number of new foreclosures actually dropped 11.4%.

"Delinquency rates in January increased for the first time since May 2010 by .8 percent over December but the growth was concentrated in the 90 days plus category, which rose 1.2 percent. New delinquencies fell for the third month in a row. All delinquent mortgages are 18.8 percent below last year, according to LPS monthly mortgage monitor and they are about 2.1 times the historical average."

Every state has seen a drop in foreclosures and delinquent loans is certainly a good thing, but it still leaves a huge foreclosure loan inventory, and a huge number of delinquent loans that are waiting to be processed.

"Despite the increase in processing activity, timelines from foreclosure to REO lengthened and contributed to the rise in foreclosure inventory. Most of the properties in the foreclosure inventory today have been in the foreclosure pipeline for more than a year, whey delinquency rates were significantly higher. Almost 30 percent of loans in foreclosure have not made a payment in over 2 years, according to LPS.

States with loans having the longest average number of days in delinquency are New York (644), Florida (638), New Jersey (580), Hawaii (563), Maine (551) and Connecticut (532). All are judicial states, where foreclosures require a court order."

Foreclosure sales are still slow, even though they picked up a bit in January. The fact is that the number of foreclosed home for sale outnumber sales 3 to 1 so it will take quite a while for sales to catch up with the available inventory.

If you would like more information on foreclosures, please check out our articles The Three Stages Of Foreclosure In Alabama and Wrongful Foreclosures In Alabama.

If you have further questions or concerns, feel free to contact us through our website or by calling 205-879-2447. You may also obtain a copy of our free book on stopping wrongful foreclosures and the problems of hidden fees by emailing us. We have also started handling bankruptcy cases.

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Full post as published by Alabama Consumer Blog on March 29, 2011 (boomark / email).