San Jose Foreclosures Contributing to Increasing California Foreclosures

San Jose is the hub of California’s renowned Silicon Valley and highly sought after destination to live in the United States. With a flourishing job market, the residential property prices in San Jose have seen a huge rise in the last few years. However, for those of you who are still interested in purchasing property here, San Jose foreclosures offer an excellent opportunity. Currently, the median price for a San Jose home is $680,000.

The foreclosure properties in California have been recorded as the highest since 1988! This has added to the already high California foreclosures, which climbed 34.5% for the current quarter. The main reasons for this steep increase in foreclosure rate are the declining prices, slow property sales, and a credit crunch. Additionally, lesser number of default homeowners are likely to avoid foreclosure.

Around 72,571 people filed notices to initiate the foreclosure process during this third quarter. According to DataQuick Information Systems, this is a 34.5% rise from the second quarter and a whopping 166.6% increases from same time in last year. This trend is expected to continue across the state of California and shows no signs of stabilization.

Counties such as Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano also haven’t been spared from the backlash of a spiraling foreclosure market. San Jose foreclosures, San Francisco foreclosures also contributed to the overall increase to the state’s foreclosure problems. Alameda Country has 2,126 people file for foreclosure, which is 164.8% more compared to the 3rd quarter of 2006. Contra Costa County recorded 3,216 notices, an increase of 217.8% for the same period last year, and Solano Country has 1,513 foreclosure listings leading to a 196.7% rise for the same period last year.

Meanwhile, San Joaquin County documented one of the highest foreclosure rates in California. The listings number tripled to 2,961 in the 3rd quarter of the current year. Other hot ZIPs include East Bay, Oakland, Vallejo, Lathrop, and Antioch.

Despite a healthy employment market and increasingly high priced residential real estate market, foreclosures in San Jose continue to be a cause of concern. Most of the people who defaulted in repayment took loans between July 2005 and September 2006. While the number of loans touch a high in August 2005, the use of ARM as a first mortgage option touch a high at 77.8% in May 2005.

The definite losses of residential properties to foreclosure across California totaled 24,209 during 3rd quarter of this year. San Jose foreclosures also increased significantly.

San Francisco Foreclosures Increase by a Whopping 300%!

An alarming trend has emerged based on the new statistics that show California foreclosures increasing rapidly, causing those who keep watch on the property market to sweat! The number of California residents who couldn’t afford their mortgages climbed to an all-time new high since the last 11 years. 258 homeowners filed for foreclosure in the Bay Area alone during the second quarter of 2006, while 2,206 foreclosure properties have been reported so far in the second quarter of 2007. DataQuick maintains that there is a 755% jump in San Francisco foreclosures!

Foreclosures in San Francisco as well in California have skyrocketed. The second quarter of 2008 has been witness to 17,408 foreclosure listings while this time in the previous year only 1,936 foreclosures were reported. The rise has been an incredible 800% within a year!

One of the major culprits for rise in San Francisco foreclosures is the above-average unemployment rate. Lack of proper employment opportunities has led to people lacking the ability to pay their mortgage payments and thereby defaulting. More and more residents of San Francisco are devastated at losing the roof over their heads. Crime is on the rise and a good example of this is the Westview Village where prostitution, vandalism, and constant burglaries are plaguing the neighborhood.

There has been a tremendous increase in the number of defaults made by homeowners on their mortgages especially in the adjustable-rate loans. As each day passes by, more and more people are becoming a victim of this mortgage meltdown. The neighbors have also started to feel the heat and there is a feeling of fear, depression and haunting as they see empty homes and deserted streets. These are the after-effects of the foreclosure meltdown and it isn’t confined only to low -income groups but is slowly seeping into the middle-class and even upper class neighborhoods. Foreclosures in San Francisco have pushed people to the brink. While many are jobless, others have taken to street crime and other types of illegal activities.

A 300% rise in California foreclosures in August 2007 has pushed California State among the Top 5 states list for highest foreclosure rates. Contributing further to this cause are various counties in the state including Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano. 2,126 people filed for foreclosure in Alameda Country, which is 164.8% higher compared to the 3rd quarter of 2006. In Contra Costa County 3,216 notices were filed leading to an increase of 217.8% for the same period last year.

San Francisco foreclosures are fast leading the residents towards crime and if the federal government doesn’t take appropriate measures soon, this might lead to another crisis.

San Diego Foreclosures Making It Harder To Keep the Roof over the Head

San Diego County witnessed a record number of foreclosure properties as more and more homeowners default and foreclosure activity experiences a rise through the entire State. The San Diego foreclosures reached 1,182 from January to March 2007.

Adding to the foreclosure woes of people in San Diego Country was the fact that real estate prices turned negative in 2006 for the very first time from 1995. Real estate market experts believe that more fall in the prices may not happen if the interest rates stabilize and local economy stays strong and homebuyers see resurgence in their confidence.

In San Diego Country, the median price of a residential real estate dropped 0.8% to $490,000 last year. This is a marginal drop from 2005’s median price of $494,000. However, this drop in property prices trend has not been uniform across the county. Some communities in San Diego County posted a healthy appreciation in prices this year, while a few others showed a significant decline.

Sales for 3rd quarter of 2007 totaled 42,122 making it a 23.9% drop since 2005 and the lowest sales stats since 1997 when only 38,794 homes were sold, marking the end of the housing boom. Some experts believe that this is a typical housing cycle and overall market rates will fall by 4% more before starting to rise again. San Diego foreclosures have also contributed to the decline in home prices.

Meanwhile, California State has been reeling under skyrocketing foreclosures as more and more homeowners initiate the first step towards foreclosing by filing notices as of last quarter. This has resulted in a sluggish real estate market, falling home price, and plenty of subprime distress. California foreclosures reached 72,571 during July to September 2007, rising 34.5% from 53,943 foreclosures filed in the previous quarter.

Additionally, half of California's default activity is centered in ZIP codes 293, which are located in Inland Empire and Central Valley. When these are grouped together, the ZIP codes witnessed a year by year increase in home prices. However, in 1,172 other ZIPs there was a marked appreciation in property prices in 2004, 2005, but in the last quarter the prices fell marginally by 2.5% at $575,000.

Though the best of housing boom is now over, the foreclosures in San Diego are still rising and quickly. The second quarter of 2007 has witnessed a jump of almost 10% in San Diego foreclosures compared to just 1.7% in the last year.