CA News & Views
Bank of America said to fuel big increase in California foreclosures
BizJournals, 9/13/2011
ForeclosureRadar said Tuesday that foreclosure starts in California rose sharply in August to the highest level in a year, driven by Bank of America more than doubling its foreclosure starts in the western states tracked by the research firm.
Foreclosure starts jumped significantly, reversing what had been a declining trend over the past several months in the states ForeclosureRadar covers — California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.
Time to foreclose in California for all banks increased to 333 days in August, which is 49 days longer than a year ago.
Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and U.S. Bank (NYSE: USB) also saw an increase in foreclosure starts in August, while J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) and Citibank (NYSE: C) were essentially flat, according to ForeclosureRadar, based in Discovery Bay.
“Bank of America appears to be primarily responsible for the surge in foreclosure starts,” said Sean O’Toole, founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar. “Since their average time to foreclose has recently increased to more than a year, it is unclear that these foreclosure starts will lead to an increase in foreclosure sales anytime soon.”
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) did not have an immediate comment.
ForeclosureRadar said investors bought more properties on the courthouse steps in August than in July everywhere in its coverage area except Washington state. The number of properties sold back to the bank “jumped significantly” in Oregon, and also rose in California and Nevada.
In California, Notice of Default filings, the first step in foreclosure proceedings, increased almost 70 percent to the highest level in a year. Notice of Trustee Sale filings were up 6 percent month-over-month, but down almost 24 percent year-over-year.
California properties sold back to the bank increased 12 percent in August from the prior month. Properties sold to investors and other third parties rose almost 10 percent month-over-month, and was up almost 11 percent year-over-year.
