Stamford Lis Pendens Filings Push Up Number of House Repos

Despite hopes of the start of a rebound from the housing market collapse, the number of house repos continues to rise in many markets.

In Stamford, Connecticut, the number of lis pendens postings in the first 6 months of this year increased by over 68 percent to 2,380 filings from the 1,414 lis pendens filed during the same period last year and increased by over 70 percent from postings in the last 6 months of 2008, according to records from the Stamford Community Development Office.

Not all lis pendens postings move on to actual foreclosures, as some homeowners are able to make their accounts current, but based on past records, an increase in lis pendens postings generally indicates an increase in future foreclosures.

Nationwide, foreclosure postings have been rising despite declines in some markets. Intensified efforts by federal and state governments to prevent foreclosures have not been able to cut down significantly the number of foreclosure filings.

Martin Nirschel, a realtor in Stamford, said that job loss is the main reason for the continued rise in foreclosures. He explained that homeowners who have exhausted all remedies to save their homes will be forced to give up their properties to foreclosure. Borrowers would not be able to pay their monthly loan payments if they do not have jobs.

In the area covered by Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport, the unemployment rate soared in May to 7.5 percent, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In May last year, the unemployment rate in the area was only 4.9 percent.

Since 2006, a total of 211 foreclosure homes have been posted. In the past months, actual foreclosures generally declined, as opposed to foreclosure filings. For the 3-month period from April to June, a total of 19 foreclosures were posted, marking a decline of over 48 percent from the 37 filings in the first three months.

In the spring, the monthly counts of foreclosure auctions in Stamford were generally low.

In the Stamford housing market, according to Nirschel, an early indication of an increase in future foreclosures is the increase in short sales. Homeowners resort to short sales to avoid foreclosure, but they have to obtain agreement from the bank that it will accept a home price lower than the loan amount to fully settle the home loan.

According to Nirschel, short sales oftentimes take a longer time to process than regular sales, but it has brought a lot of home buyers into the Stamford market in the past months.

Related Posts:

• Housing Market Absorbing Foreclosures in Florida Well
• Bank Owned Property Listings Surged in 12 Counties in Colorado
• New York’s Foreclosure Data Inaccurate?
• Repossessed Homes for Sale Rose in the Idaho Treasure Valley
• High Unemployment, Foreclose Rates Pummel Utah