Notices of Default in Central Oregon
Notices of default (to many, the initial phase of the foreclosure process) fell slightly in Deschutes County for the month of August. There were 308 last month, compared to 314 for July . . . still pretty hefty numbers, and an indication that our distressed property pipeline in Bend Oregon will stay full for a while. Home prices in Bend will not be rising anytime soon.
Most of the time, the defaults are likewise a measure of properties where mortgages are underwater. Still, sometimes it takes a view from the outside to put things into perspective, and maybe make us feel a little better about our plight here with our Bend Oregon real estate market.
San Francisco Chronicle Report
An article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle by Anna Hibble reported that properties’ underwater mortgages are on the decline: that because of increased foreclosures on distressed properties, the number of American homes with mortgages that exceed the property’s value has dropped. But again, foreclosures, rather than rising home prices, accounts for the drop–not then a positive sign.
For a more detailed look at this phenomenon, and for a bit of a chuckle, here is a list of the top 15 states in our union for underwater mortgages.
1. Nevada: 69.9% of all mortgages
2. Arizona: 51.3% of all mortgages
3. Floria: 47.8% of all mortgages
4. Michigan: 38.5% of all mortgages
5. California: 35.1% of all mortgages
6. Georgia: 27.8% of all mortgages
7. Virginia: 24.3% of all mortgages
8.-13. South Dakota, Maine, West Virginia, Wyoming, Louisiana, and Mississippi: 23.8% of all mortgages
14. Maryland: 22.9% of all mortgages
15. Idaho: 22.7% of all mortgages
Though we’ve heard the term “bail out” more times than we care to, we might be hard pressed to see what, if any, real help is being offered to drowning homeowners.
