Foreclosure Report – January 2012

Trustee Sale Investors Kickoff the New Year with Near Record Activity

Real Estate investors started off 2012 with a bang. Sales to Third Parties, typically investors rose significantly in January throughout our coverage area, with the exception of Washington. California saw the most activity, with investors purchasing 3,964 properties for $766.2 million. Note that trustee sale investors must pay in cash, in full, with no title insurance or inspections prior to purchase. This is the fourth largest month on record in California and the busiest since March of 2011.

Nevada saw the largest month-over-month increase in Foreclosure Sales, with investors there purchasing 973 properties for $99.1 million. This increase, coupled with the dramatic decline in new foreclosures that began in October 2011, is quickly depleting the foreclosure inventory that remains scheduled for sale in Nevada. Year-over-year the number of Nevada properties scheduled for sale has dropped 57.6 percent.

Despite what appears to be significant percentage increases in Foreclosure Starts in California, Nevada, and Washington, these increases barely offset the declines seen over the holidays. Compared to January one year ago, Foreclosure Starts are significantly lower now - despite the fact that many banks were still under self-imposed moratoriums due to Robo-signing last year.

“January’s numbers should put to rest any notion that we will see a wave of foreclosures in 2012, at least in the western states that we cover.” Stated Sean OToole, Founder & CEO of ForeclosureRadar. “Foreclosure Starts remain near record low levels, significantly lower than a year ago when many banks still had self-imposed moratoriums in place due to the Robo-signing scandal. Add to that a foreclosure timeframe of more than 8 months, and there is little chance of a wave this year even if all the banks started the foreclosure process en masse tomorrow.”