Although San Diego Foreclosures Have Been in Decline, the San Diego Real Estate Market is far from Fine
Aug 14th, 2010 by Kathleen Behrens
Houses for Sale in San Diego – The San Diego real estate market witnessed another decline in the rate of foreclosures for homes in San Diego County last month. According to RealtyTrac and ForeclosureRadar.com, the foreclosure rate for San Diego homes decreased over 35 percent from the levels recorded for the San Diego real estate market during July 2009. Statewide, the California real estate market fared just as well as the San Diego real estate market in terms of the decrease in the percentage of foreclosure filings. In fact with a decline of 38.1 percent reported by RealtyTrac, the drop in the foreclosure rate for California homes slightly exceeded the rate for homes in San Diego County.
According to foreclosure data from RealtyTrac, the rate of foreclosure filings for homes in San Diego County decreased 37 percent last month from July 2009 levels. RealtyTrac recorded 8,031 foreclosure filings during July 2009 and 5,032 filings last month. Foreclosure filings included default notices, foreclosure auctions, and bank repossessions of San Diego homes. RealtyTrac estimates one out of every 226 homes in the San Diego real estate market received a foreclosure filing during July.
ForeclosureRadar.com presented a similar figure, based upon slightly different numbers, for the foreclosure rates for homes in San Diego County during July 2009 and 2010. According to ForeclosureRadar.com, the number of foreclosure filings for San Diego homes decreased nearly 36 percent from 7,742 filings in July 2009 to 4,978 foreclosure filings last month.
Although the rates of foreclosure filings for the San Diego and California real estate markets have dropped significantly, homes in California still represented 21 percent of the homes throughout the nation which received a foreclosure filing last month. RealtyTrac estimates this figure translates to one out of every 200 homes in California. The rate of foreclosure filings in the U.S. has declined 10 percent from July 2009. RealtyTrac estimated one out of every 397 homes in the U.S. received a foreclosure filing last month.
Despite the dramatic decline in the number of foreclosures for homes in San Diego, the recovery of the San Diego real estate market and San Diego home values is likely to continue at a slow pace. According to Sean O’Toole, CEO of ForeclosureRadar.com, it may take five to ten years to recover from the negative equity. However, it is unlikely we will see another flood of foreclosures. Both lenders and the federal government have intervened to control and stabilize home values and the foreclosure process. Although the foreclosure process took an average of 39 days longer last month to complete than it did during July 2009, the number of foreclosures in San Diego has declined.
If you are facing the unfortunate situation of potentially losing your San Diego home to foreclosure, you have several options. First, contact your lender to see if you qualify to receive principal reduction or a loan modification. There are a number of programs designed specifically to help distressed homeowners. You may also want to consider a short sale for your San Diego home if you would prefer to get out from under your mortgage. A short sale is less detrimental to your credit than a foreclosure, and lenders have become more cooperative than they were previously.
For more information or to decide if a short sale is the right option for your San Diego home, contact San Diego Broker and Realtor Russ Petrone of Petrone Properties Real Estate Associates at 858-259-1000 for a free, no obligation consultation. With 25 years of experience in the San Diego real estate market, Russ has the experience and negotiating skills to successfully navigate through the short sale process. He can provide you with the information you need to make an informed decision about which choice is right for you and your San Diego home.