Second Mortgage Lender
Mortgage Defaults Surge
Aug. 3--Lenders filed 80 percent more notices of default on homes in Ventura County during the second quarter this year than last, DataQuick Information Systems reported Wednesday.
The possible reasons cited for missed payments is a slowdown in the real estate market that makes it more difficult for people to eke out as much money as hoped for from a sale and adjustable-rate mortgages that get more expensive as interest rates escalate over time.
In Ventura County, notices of default -- the first step in the long foreclosure process that serves as a warning to homeowners -- jumped to 452 in the second quarter from 250 last year.
Statewide, there were 20,752 notices filed, a 67.2 percent increase. The year-over-year increase was the highest for any quarter in DataQuick's 14 years of record keeping.
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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.