Date 23/01/2008
Source Sign on San Diego
Extraits
DataQuick Information Systems reported yesterday that foreclosures rose 353 percent to 7,349, while default notices – the start of the foreclosure process – increased 128 percent to 20,138. The numbers were the highest since DataQuick began keeping track of county foreclosures in 1988 and defaults in 1992.
Today, the inability of borrowers to keep up with mortgage payments is putting downward pressure on median home prices, which have fallen 17 percent since the peak of the housing boom in November 2005.
There are some exceptional bargains, however. Kent has listed a foreclosed, one-bedroom condo in San Ysidro for $134,900. The 12-year-old condo sold for $283,000 in early 2005. Although the condo is in good shape, the area has an oversupply, Kent said.
The final three months of 2007 marked the 11th consecutive quarter of risingforeclosures in San Diego County, DataQuick analyst LePage said.
Union Bank senior economist Keitaro Matsuda said the bottom of the housing market is hard to predict “because of continued turmoil in the mortgage market. . . . Eventually, there will be an upturn.”
