ForeclosureRadar: May Activity Dominated by Local Conditions

Foreclosure activity in May was marked by lenders being impacted by local market conditions rather than any national trend, according to ""ForeclosureRadar's May 2012 Foreclosure Report"":http://www.foreclosureradar.com/foreclosure-report/foreclosure-report-may-2012.

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The report examined all foreclosure activity-sales, starts, and timelines-for Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington in the month of May. While foreclosure starts and sales rose overall between the five states, individual activity widely varied.

Foreclosure sales in California increased by 6.1 percent compared to April, driven up largely by the 14 percent month-over-month increase in foreclosure sales to third parties. Other foreclosure activity doesn't seem to have been impacted by California's recent passage of certain provisions of the Homeowner Bill of Rights that has been hotly debated in the past month. However, the report speculates that the remaining bills, if passed, may significantly impact the foreclosure marketplace.

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""I continue to find the push to ‘Stop' foreclosures, as we are currently seeing play out in the California Legislature, ludicrous. The real problem is negative equity, and the only thing stopping foreclosures will accomplish is insuring that we are stuck with the negative equity problem for far longer than necessary,"" said Sean O'Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar. ""I completely get why folks are mad at both the banks and the situation. However, stopping foreclosures will lead to a much longer economic recovery, increased blight, fewer jobs, lower property tax receipts, and fewer opportunities for new homebuyers and investors.""

In Nevada, foreclosure starts and sales increased month-over-month by 20.3 percent and 7.8 percent, respectively. Time to foreclose also jumped up 9.4 percent to a record high of 464 days, spurred largely by AB 284, the Foreclosure Fraud Reform Law that went into effect October 2011. The law requires foreclosure filings to be processed in recorded in the counties in which the foreclosed properties are located, among other things.

In Arizona, foreclosure sales increased 30.1 percent over April, but that number was still down year-over-year by 39.2 percent. Foreclosure starts and time to foreclose decreased by 10.8 percent and 12 percent, respectively.

Washington saw sales and starts grow in May (22.4 percent and 6.3 percent increases, respectively), with time to foreclose decreasing by a slight 1 percent. Oregon's sales dropped month-over-month by 21.3 percent but were still flat against May 2011. Starts rose 11.6 percent, and time to foreclose increased 1.4 percent.