As both jobs and home sales remained scarce, 34% of all California home resale activity in the fourth quarter of 2011 was attributed to real estate owned (REO) inventory — approximately the same as in the prior quarter and down from an even higher 38% one year earlier. [For current REO data and analysis, see [...]

‘Twas the season of giving when California Attorney General (AG) Kamala Harris sued government sponsored entities (GSEs) Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (Frannie), just a few days before Christmas. The California AG filed the two suits not long after having seceded from the national negotiations which were underway between the Big Banks and a number [...]

Readers weigh in on topics affecting the California real estate industry.

This Market Chart presents current and historic REO resales activity in California, with forecasting and analysis by first tuesday. Thanks primarily to the Lesser Depression of California’s jobless recovery which continues to drive foreclosures, 34% of all California home resale activity in the fourth quarter of 2011 can be attributed to real estate owned property [...]

Past NODs indicate how many foreclosures are yet to come.

The month of December saw no change in the overall rate of California unemployment, which remains at its lowest point since mid-2009. Note that this does not indicate an increase in the employed population. Instead, the declined unemployment rate reflects the fact that more and more people are leaving the work force entirely.The labor force [...]

This article looks at home sales volume through and beyond the current recovery.

For every two homes available for sale, there is another in lender shadow inventory, according to a report by CoreLogic. Nationally in October 2011, 1.6 million residential units were shadow inventory comprising property delinquent 90 days or more, in foreclosure or real estate owned (REO) and thus were not yet listed with a multiple listing [...]

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors (the Fed) is checking up on mortgage lender compliance with regulations controlling foreclosure misconduct the Fed identified at ten banks (including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and Citibank) during the Fed’s November 2010 foreclosure review. In addition to requirements issued in April 2011, each of the [...]

BofA has maintained the conservative position (read: unchanging) of opposing leaseback arrangements with former homeowners. Along with the other Big Lenders, they sense they are creating a “moral risk” dealing with these delinquent borrowers. However, the bank purports to be looking into an alternative foreclosure program to rent back real estate-owned property (REO) to its [...]