REO

A drop in homebuyer activity following the contract deadline for the federal tax credit helped trigger a noticeable decline in home prices between May and June, according to a study by Campbell Surveys. The company found that prices fell in three out of four property categories last month. Average prices tumbled by 6.8 percent for move-in ready foreclosed properties, 6.3 percent for short sales, and 4.6 percent for non-distressed properties. In contrast, prices for damaged foreclosed properties increased by 5.9 percent.

Habitat for Humanity International and the National Community Stabilization Trust have announced a new national partnership to help turn foreclosed and abandoned houses into affordable Habitat for Humanity homes. Through the Stabilization Trust's national Property Acquisition Program, the two-year partnership will give Habitat affiliates the opportunity to purchase foreclosed and abandoned properties from participating financial institutions on a ""first look"" basis, before the properties are broadly marketed and listed for sale.

The number of California homeowners entering foreclosure dropped to its lowest level in three years during the second quarter of 2010, according to MDA DataQuick. Lenders filed a total of 70,051 notices of default (NODs) with county recorder offices during the April-to-June period. DataQuick says its the lowest total the company has reported since the second quarter of 2007, when 53,943 NODs were filed. The company says price rebounds, motivated sellers, and accommodating lenders have played a role in bringing default filings down.

The new financial reform legislation provides an additional $1 billion for HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) - a nationwide initiative aimed at alleviating the effects of the foreclosure crisis on communities that are riddled with abandoned properties. In some cities, take a drive down any one street and you'll find three or more homes that have been boarded up and in some cases, commandeered by squatters and turned into havens for criminal activity. NSP was launched to address this very issue by allowing local and state government's to take back their cities and eliminate blight.

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) convenes its 63rd National Convention as economic volatility, high foreclosure rates, and continued unemployment contribute further to the already-precarious conditions of the nation's housing marketplace. Meeting July 29 through August 4, at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, conference attendees are expected to discuss innovative approaches and cross-sector strategies that can be employed to rebuild confidence in the nation's housing market, and at the same time protect financially-distressed homeowners.

In response to the influx of foreclosed homes on the market, the real estate auction firm Hudson & Marshall of Texas, Inc., is auctioning nearly 200 bank-owned homes this week in cities throughout Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada. This week's auctions started July 20 and will continue through July 24. The properties up for bid are valued from about $18,000 to more than $450,000, and all come with an insurable title and no back taxes or liens.

Freddie Mac said Friday that it has teamed up with real estate auction specialist REDC and the asset management firm New Vista to sell off 135 homes the GSE has repossessed through foreclosure at an auction event in Phoenix, Arizona. The HomeSteps REO homes will be auctioned off to individual homebuyers at the Phoenix Convention Center on August 7. Almost a third of the homes are being set-aside specifically for first-time borrowers participating in the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).

Banks took back an average of 4,000 South Florida properties each month during the first half of 2010, according to a new report from the locally based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures. At the current rate, the company says nearly 50,000 homes will be repossessed in South Florida this year alone. One key reason the number of REOs has spiked is the implementation of a new online auction technology being used by county circuit courts to clear the backlog of foreclosed properties.

RealtyTrac released its Midyear 2010 Foreclosure Report Thursday, which shows that 1,654,634 U.S. properties received a foreclosure filing during the first half of this year. That figure means that one in every 78 homes received at least one filing between January and June. RealtyTrac says at this pace, we're on track to exceed 3 million properties with foreclosure filings by the end of the year, and more than 1 million bank repossessions. In the second quarter alone, bank repos hit a new record high.

The number of foreclosure sales that were cancelled in California hit an all-time record in June, according to a report released Tuesday by the locally based firm ForeclosureRadar. In total, 10,506 foreclosures were called off in California last month before reaching the auction sale phase. ForeclosureRadar characterized activity in the Golden State as ""mixed"" last month, with filings of new foreclosure notices on the rise and foreclosure sales down. That assessment follows two straight months of across-the-board declines.