Southwestern Illinois Facing the Problem of Decline in Distress Houses Listings
Posted in Distress Property, March 9th, 2010
According to foreclosure data published by local realtor associations and the Association of Realtors in Illinois, listings of distressed houses declined in February this year in Southwestern Illinois. In Madison County, 114 foreclosure filings hit households, which is lower than the previous month. In Saint Clair County, 127 foreclosure notices were issued.
Local realtors are still hoping that local foreclosure trend will keep up with the declining national trend despite a slight change in the situation this year, in comparison to the previous year. In 2009, the two counties were exceeding the level of 100 units every month.
In the October–December quarter of 2009, based on the report of the Mortgage Bankers Association, the residential mortgage default rate decreased by 17 percent in comparison with the July–September quarter of 2009. The nationwide rate came down to an adjusted 9.47 percent. MBA spokesperson, Carolyn Kemp, was of the opinion that the reason behind the fall of the default rate was due to the significant decline in mortgages overdue by 30 days.
In the last quarter of the year, the additional holiday expenses and higher heating costs were the primary reasons behind the delay of loan payments. Therefore, according to Kemp, the decline in the mortgage overdue was of great significance, as usually at this time of the year, the default rates shoot up. She also added that the trend is on the path of removal.
In the last quarter of last year, the number of properties that were under the list of foreclosure filings and entering the listings of distressed houses in Illinois fell by 1.53 percent of all the mortgage loans. Nevertheless, 11 percent of overdue mortgage loans were found increased in the fourth quarter of the last year of the total default mortgage loans, and 5 percent of all the home loans increased in the total number of foreclosed homes.
The Illinois Association of Realtors’ communications director, Mary Schaefer, was of the opinion that the answer to this foreclosure crisis will depend on the banks modifying home loans and helping the employment situation. Joblessness is the primary reason behind the increasing number of foreclosures in the housing market.
According to reports, the home sales in counties like Madison and Saint Clair reduced by 39 percent, coming down to 103 homes that were sold in January, compared to December sales. As more homeowners are taking the advantage of state and federal programs to tackle foreclosures, it is speculated that these sales will come down further.
