Redding Real Estate Blog – Page 421

Update To Our Shasta County Public MLS

We just finished upgrading our Shasta County Multiple Listing Service (MLS) web site. The upgraded site allows you to search all available homes is Shasta County with the same MLS data that local REALTORs use. There’s no cost to you and we’ve added some really cool new features, check it out.

1. Create custom searches and you’ll see only see the properties you’re interested in.

2. Receive automatic email. On a 24/7 basis, all new listings that meet your custom search criteria are automatically emailed to you.

3. Modify your custom search at any time. You’ll be the first to know about the hottest new listings.

Start searching the Shasta County MLS here https://www.parsonsrealty.com/parsons_realty/188/shasta-county-mls/

California Foreclosures Starting To Cool Down?

Foreclosureradar.com released its California Foreclosure Report for October 2008. Notice of default filings were up by 2.8% but dropped 42.3 when compared to this month last year. The statewide findings are very similar to what we found for Shasta County foreclosures.

Foreclosure sales dropped by 39.1 percent from the prior month, due to significant increases in cancellations and postponements, the company said.

Under California law, scheduled foreclosure sales can be postponed for a period of up to one year, until they are either canceled or sold. According to ForeclosureRadar, cancellations, where the home is taken out of foreclosure, increased by 78 percent in October, resulting in nearly 20 percent of foreclosure sales scheduled for the month being called off.

Notice of Default filings, which start the foreclosure process, continue to be significantly impacted by CA State Senate Bill 1137, as lenders work through the new requirements the law imposes, ForeclosureRadar said. Based on the company’s data, however, Notices of Trustee Sale rebounded after a significant drop the prior month.

A summary of ForeclosureRadar’s findings include:

– Notice of Default filings increased slightly in October, up 2.8 percent from September, to a total of 16,810 filings. Year over year, Notice of Default filings are down 42.3 percent.

– Notices of Trustee Sale, which schedule the auction date and time, increased by 32.9 percent in October, to 25,408 filings. Despite the significant increase, this level of filings remains well below average levels earlier this year, as September levels were clearly impacted by CA State Senate Bill 1137.

– Properties taken to sale at auction declined by 39.1 percent from September, to 14,042 sales, with a combined loan balance of $6.39 Billion. This represents a 28.8 percent increase from the prior year.

– Lenders took back 94 percent of the properties taken to auction, with a combined loan value of $9.19 Billion. Third party purchases declined 24 percent from the prior month, but increased 25 percent (as a percentage of all foreclosure sales), due to the decline in sales activity.

“It is important to note that the significant decline in October foreclosure sales cannot be directly attributed to CA State Senate Bill 1137,” said Sean O’Toole, founder of ForeclosureRadar. “There were nearly 60,000 properties scheduled for sale at the beginning of October over which the law had no affect. The drop in foreclosure sales, therefore, can only be reasonably attributed to changes introduced by the lenders themselves and not in response to SB 1137.”

The increase in cancellations was led primarily by Countrywide, ForeclosureRadar stated, which saw a 460 percent increase in cancellations from the prior month, and a 48 percent decline in the number of properties they sold at auction. In early October, Bank of America, which acquired Countrywide earlier this year, announced an aggressive loan modification program for Countrywide borrowers who financed their homes with subprime or pay option adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs).

Other lenders in California had similar drops in foreclosure sales, though more often due to postponement, rather than cancellation, ForeclosureRadar reported. Statewide, the percentage of foreclosure sales that had postponed at least once, increased from 36 percent of sales to 58 percent of sales, with the average length of postponement increasing from 24 days to 42 days.

“It would be a mistake to conclude that the declines in foreclosure activity indicate that the foreclosure crisis is over,” O’Toole warned. “While lenders now appear to be embracing the concept of foreclosure moratoriums and loan modifications, neither typically address the core issue of negative equity. Most loan modifications focus on lowering payments to affordable levels by using unsustainably low interest rates, not unlike the ‘teaser rates’ that many have blamed for the current crisis.”

Based on ForeclosureRadar’s October data, average discounts offered by lenders on the outstanding loan balance at foreclosure auction declined slightly from prior months, and averaged 36.1 percent statewide, with 33 percent of properties taken to auction being offered at discounts of 50 percent or more.

Foreclosures Increase by 5% Nationwide

RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its October 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 279,561 U.S. properties during the month, a 5 percent increase from the previous month and a 25 percent increase from October 2007. The report also shows one in every 452 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in October.

“We’ve seen sharp declines in new foreclosure filings after legislation mandating delays to the foreclosure process was signed into law in several states — most notably in California, where overall foreclosure activity was down by double-digit percentage points for the second straight month in October, and where default filings were 44 percent below October 2007 levels,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Despite this, October marks the 34th consecutive month where U.S. foreclosure activity has increased compared to the prior year.

“While the intention behind this legislation — to prevent more foreclosures — is admirable, without a more integrated approach that includes significant loan modifications, the net effect may be merely delaying inevitable foreclosures. And in the meantime, the apparent slowing of foreclosure activity understates the severity of the foreclosure problem in these states.”

California posts top foreclosure total despite continued drop in foreclosure activity
California foreclosure activity in October decreased 18 percent from the previous month, but the state still posted the highest number of properties with foreclosure filings for the month — 56,954. That total was down from a peak of more than 100,000 in August, but was still up 13 percent from October 2007.

To see the full report Click Here

Redding Electric Utility Wants To Raise Rates

In a story from today’s Record Searchlight, Redding Electric Utility is proposing a rate increase and will be meeting with the Redding City Council December 16 to consider this proposal.

It looks like our utility bills will be increasing next year. This should help our local economy!

The average Redding household will pay $6.95 more each month for electricity starting in January, should the City Council approve a proposed rate increase.

The council on Tuesday will set a hearing for Dec. 16 to consider what could be the largest Redding Electric Utility rate increase in at least 10 years.

REU had planned to seek annual 5.85 percent increases through 2012 to cover business costs, budget documents show.

But the drought and a slumping economy mean REU will ask for a 7.84 percent increase for 2009 and an identical increase for 2010, said Paul Hauser, utility director.

The council will be given rate increase options ranging from 6.35 percent to 11.57 percent, Hauser said. The 11.57 percent option would raise the average monthly household electric bill by $9.69.

“Hydro is the biggest driver,” Hauser said. “Anybody who has been out to Lake Shasta recognizes that.”

REU gets roughly 22 percent of its electricity from Shasta Dam and other federal hydroelectric projects in average rainfall years. At less than 3 cents per kilowatt hour, hydropower is by far Redding’s least-expensive electricity source.

But no one can predict how much rain will fall each year, Hauser said. That’s one reason why REU keeps a cash reserve, currently at $42 million. The utility would be seeking a much higher rate increase were that reserve not there, he said.

The hydropower supply looked decent when REU last looked at rates in February, after a couple of months of healthy rain and snowfall, Hauser said.

But this past spring was the driest on record in Northern California. REU has had to spend $8 million more than expected buying more expensive electricity to replace the lost hydropower.

The contracting economy has meant an additional $3 million hit for REU in unrealized wholesale and retail revenue it had expected, Hauser said. The utility’s customer base hasn’t grown as quickly as expected, and that means REU has to spread costs for power plants, debt service and other hard fixed expenses over a smaller base, he said.

“The council is extremely sympathetic to the current economy and the pressures people are facing,” Hauser said. “But there’s just no way around this, with the low lake level and the poor economy.”

Shasta County Down Payment Assistance Program

What is the Shasta County Down Payment Assistance Program?

Shasta County Housing and Community Action Programs provides 0% interest loans to qualified low-income, first-time home buyers to help with their down payment and closing costs. The program is available in the unincorporated area of Shasta County and inside the City of Anderson.

How much can you borrow?

The loan amount can be up to 40% of the purchase price, not to exceed $80,000.00. The maximum purchase price of the home is $225,000.00. The borrower must contribute at least 3% of the purchase price to the sale transaction. This may be a gift.

Who is eligible?

The program is available to first-time home buyers, who qualify under the following income guidelines. Gross household income must be below these limits.

A first-time home buyer is someone who has not owned a home in the last 3 years, or who qualifies as a “displaced home-maker”

More information can be found in the Shasta County DAP Brochure click here

Shasta County Sees A Slight Increase In Foreclosure Filings For The Month Of October

Foreclosure filings in Shasta County increased 32% over the previous month. There were 78 notices of default filed with the Shasta County Recorder’s office in the month of October, compared to September’s low of 59.

When we compared this month last year we saw 22% fewer filings. In October 2007 there were 95 notices of default filed and we only had 78 in October of 2008.

Last month we speculated that the cause for the major drop from Augusts high of 206 foreclosure notices was due to State Senate Bill 1137. SB 1137 forces banks to take certain steps before filing foreclosure. We expected a bigger jump in default notices this month as lenders get back on track from the delays caused by SB 1137, but it appears the bill is having a lasting effect and is working.

Earlier this month Countrywide, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and now Citi, revealed plans to keep homeowners in their homes by doing major loan modifications, these programs are scheduled to start in December. Loan modifications in the past have not been that effective; however the banks are starting to realize this and are making significant drops in principal and interest for qualified homeowners. We feel this will have an effect and the foreclosure filings will flatten out over the next few months and start to decline in the first quarter of next year.