California Foreclosures, Another Big Wave of Foreclosures Set To Hit

RIVERSIDE, CA Feb. 13 (FreeRateUpdate.com) – When you read in previous articles here that foreclosure filings fell 10% in January from December across the nation, don’t get too excited it didn’t last too long. According to the latest information on Realty Trac, foreclosures are 15% higher than they were a year ago and there’s likely to be an increase in foreclosure activity in the next few months, as the government’s pitiful mortgage modification program continues to fail. California is still in the top 3 largest hit foreclosure states.  As stated before the government and mortgage lenders are trying to look good and placate Americans into thinking they are trying to help when if fact they aren’t.  California has been hit hard by the housing/mortgage crisis with raging foreclosures in almost every county across the state with the Inland Empire, and Central California being the hardest hit.
Most real estate experts agree “if history repeats itself we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs or the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives works.” In other words, another massive wave is a-brewing in the housing market and will no doubt crash in the coming spring months as was previously forecasted here.  The Inland Empire is already reeling from the first crisis and is starting to rebound another wave could break the camel’s back.

The continued obstinate defiance of the mortgage banks to really deal with the foreclosure problem is shocking. There’s universal agreement that principal reduction is the key but the banks refuse to do it, and we are left with lame programs, like this one announced yesterday by CitiMortgage.  These banks are making not even half hearted attempts at rectifying the housing situation.  Homeowners don’t want to lose their homes here in Riverside County, but their loan has to be affordable for them.

From the banks’ greedy and lazy point of view, the longer they keep you on the hook, the better it is for them. Avoiding the mess of foreclosure allows them to keep the bogus values on their books and keeps them looking better to their investors. Some experts believe that a new round of foreclosures could trigger a double-dip in housing prices.

As if the foreclosure mess wasn’t enough, today there is also a new report from the Congressional Oversight Panel about the looming storm in the commercial real estate market. The report predicts a wave of losses, totaling $200-$300 billion, from commercial real estate loans could “trigger economic damage that could touch the lives of nearly every American.”  Here in the Inland Empire where commercial real estate sites have spouted due to previous contracts needing to be filled warehouses are sitting empty, office buildings are virtually vacant.  Businesses are still down sizing and cutting costs and more small businesses are closing their shops and turning to their home offices.

Here’s how the commercial experts say their analysis plays out: “when commercial properties fail, it creates a downward spiral of economic contraction: job losses; deteriorating store fronts, office buildings and apartments; and the failure of the banks serving those communities.” The report reminds us that the failure of community banks would further restrict small business access to capital, just the economic recovery is occurring.  Once again if lame attempts are not enough, we need real solutions for we are real people with real families to feed and house.  The big banks and government need to find real solutions.  As stated by former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin, this country is ready for another revolution.