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California Foreclosure Activity up by Biggest Margin in 14 Years
RISMEDIA, August 7, 2006(MCT)Foreclosure activity across California soared by its biggest margin in 14 years during the second quarter in response to diminishing price appreciation, but still remained well below average levels, an industry tracker said Wednesday.
And in another sign that the housing market boom is over, mortgage applications last week sank to their lowest level in four years.
During the April-through-June period, lenders sent 20,752 default notices to homeowners in the state, up 67.2 percent from the year-ago period and up 10.5 percent from the first quarter, said DataQuick Information Systems.
That's the biggest annual quarterly increase since La Jolla-based DataQuick began mining these numbers in 1992.
Activity peaked in the first quarter of 1996, when 59,897 defaults were filed and hit a low of 12,145 notices during the third quarter of 2004.
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Is it Time to Buy US Homebuilder Shares?
Gary Dorsch (Global Money Trends) submits: More home builders are cutting their 2006 profit outlooks as second-quarter orders for new homes have come down significantly from a year ago. Housing stocks have crashed from the stratosphere, as traders focused on earnings warnings and lower new-home sales in June. Pulte Homes (PHM), one of the nation's largest builders, on July 26th, said its profit fell 20% and lowered its 2006 outlook.
Unsold New homes equal a record 6.1 months of supply, and existing US homes are stagnating at 6.8 months of supply. New home sales were 11.1% lower in June from a year ago, but prices are still 2% higher on average at $231,000. The Mortgage Bankers Association said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage application activity, which includes both refinancing and purchasing loans, for the week ended July 28 fell 1.2% to the 528-level, it's lowest since May 2002.