| No. of homes in some stage of foreclosure soared, data show
The number of U.S. homes that slipped into some stage of foreclosure in 2007 was 79 percent higher than in the previous year, a real estate tracking company said Tuesday. Many homeowners started to fall behind on mortgage payments in the last three months, setting the stage for more foreclosures this year. About 1.3 million homes received foreclosure-related warnings last year, up from 717,522 in 2006, Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc. said. Foreclosure filings rose 75 percent from the previous year to 2.2 million. More than 1 percent of all U.S. households were in some phase of the foreclosure process last year, up from about half a percent in 2006, RealtyTrac said. Nevada, Florida, Michigan and California posted the highest foreclosure rates, the company said.
Foreclosure filings continue to climb
Foreclosure sale filings in La Crosse County rose 18 percent in 2007, a trend that appears to be continuing in the new year with 50 foreclosure sales slated for the first three months, according to the La Crosse County Sheriff's Department.The county scheduled 130 foreclosure sales in 2007, compared with 106 in 2006. The county has averaged 110 scheduled sales annually in the past five years, according to the sheriff's department's process service division.
The county already has held 18 foreclosure sales this month, and more are scheduled, said Kathy Scott, who helps coordinate the sales for the sheriff's department.The sheriff's department has 50 foreclosure auctions on the calendar through March, compared with 34 auctions on the docket in the first quarter of 2007, the sheriff's department reported.Scheduling a sale does not mean an auction will be held, Scott added.
Fine in 2009 (Not So Great in 2008)
In its accompanying statement, the Fed wanly noted that its actions "should help promote moderate growth over time" when "combined with the policy actions [75 basis points of fed funds cuts] taken earlier." Stocks promptly dropped by more than 2.5 percent, while interest rates fell by 25 basis points, and the dollar fell by nearly 1 percent against the yen. These adjustments were very large given that markets had expected the 25-basis-point cuts. Hours after the rate cut announcements, through a leak to CNBC's evening talk show on financial markets, the Fed provided a hint that it was holding a little more candy up its sleeve. The next morning, on December 12, as had been hinted via CNBC, it was breathlessly revealed that the Fed, along with central banks in England, Europe, and Canada--with good wishes from the ever-passive Bank of Japan--was establishing measures to enhance liquidity in the banking system.
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