Articles
REO Listings Update: 2010’s Record-Breaking Year
Thursday, January 27th, 2011
The Final Foreclosure Numbers on Last Year
As predicted by numerous housing experts, 2010 was another record-breaker in terms of numbers of foreclosures and bank REOs. For the first time since foreclosure numbers began to be recorded, over a million homes were converted to REO properties, despite the slowdown in foreclosure activity in the final quarter of 2010, due to the discovery of invalid bank …
REO Listings: Why Are Lenders Denying Short Sales?
Friday, January 21st, 2011
When a Foreclosure Solution Gets Short-Circuited
In this time of record-breaking foreclosures, many Americans, battered by the recession, find themselves without many alternatives to losing their house. One such alternative, the short sale, in which the homeowner is allowed to sell their home below the value of their mortgage, was one way that someone could get “out from under” a home loan they could no …
REO Listings: More Americans Interested In Buying REO Properties
Monday, December 27th, 2010
A New “Tidal Wave” of Foreclosures Predicted in Early 2011
A new survey by RealtyTrac and Trulia, two online real estate powerhouses reveals that more and more Americans are realizing the benefits of buying REO properties.
49 percent of those surveyed said they were likely to consider purchasing a foreclosure, up from 45% last May. Two-thirds of those expected to receive a discount of about 30% …
REO Listings: 2011 Foreclosure Forecast Predicts Two Million More REOs
Tuesday, December 21st, 2010
Federal Reserve Governor Reveals REO Projections to Congress
As 2010 comes to a close, the Federal Reserve has revealed that it expects approximately 4.25 million more foreclosure filings in the next two years, with two million plus expected in 2011 as well as in 2012, similar to the record amount of foreclosures that occurred during this year.
Elizabeth Duke, the Reserve Governor, reported these projections to …
REO Listings: REO Foreclosures Continue At Record Pace
Saturday, November 20th, 2010
“Robo-Signing” Foreclosure Settlement Reportedly Near with All 50 States
Despite investigations into lenders’ possible faulty processing of foreclosures, the number of REO repossessions broke new records in October of 2010, up by more than 20% year-to-year.
Experts expected the number of new REO repossessions to dip due to the ongoing questions about the banks’ supposed practice of “robo-signing” foreclosure papers. Instead, they fell off only slightly …
REO Listings: Current REO Inventory Will Take 40 Months To Clear
Friday, November 5th, 2010
Huge Amount of REO Homes Still Held By Lenders; Foreclosure Actions Up Sharply in Other Cities Across America
Fitch Ratings, a global credit rating agency, now estimates that the huge “shadow inventory” of REO properties still being held by lending institutions will take at least 40 months to process and sell.
With an estimated 7.5 million REO homes yet to be listed, it will take some …
REO Listings: Foreclosures Account For Half of All Home Sales
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
REO Homes and Distressed Housing Continue To Surge
More than 3000 real estate agents surveyed nationwide were asked what’s really going on with today’s housing market – and, according to them, distressed home sales, including REO properties, made up over 47% of the total market in September of this year, up from August. Inside Mortgage Finance, together with Campbell Surveys, polled the agents, who also revealed …
REO Listings: Stopping Foreclosures Will Threaten Housing Recovery
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Economic Experts Decry Push to Freeze Foreclosures; Inventory Still Huge
REO sales have become an increasingly important sector of the real estate market, especially in states that have been hardest hit by the housing crisis. For example, foreclosure sales made up 56 percent of all home purchases in Nevada and 47 percent of them in Arizona this past August, while in Michigan, Rhode Island and Florida, …
REO Listings Update: REO Foreclosures Set Third Record In Last Five Months
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
RealtyTrac Confirms Biggest Month for Bank REOs Ever
Just as predicted by many experts, bank foreclosures, instead of finally declining, are instead hitting new heights as we head into the final quarter of the year.
In August, according to online foreclosure sale site RealtyTrac, new REO properties reached a record-setting high of 95,364 properties, the highest monthly total in the history of the site. That number represents …
REO Listings: Foreclosures Will Dominate Through 2013
Monday, August 16th, 2010
REO Agents and Brokers Should Prepare for Huge Opportunity
Lender Processing Services (LPS), the country’s leading provider of mortgage processing services and the company that most of the largest U.S banks rely on for data, says the boom in REO listings is very far from over.
Kyle Lundstedt, managing director of LPS applied analytics, stated that the foreclosure crisis probably won’t be over until late …
More REO Brokers And Agents Needed By Fannie Mae
Sunday, August 1st, 2010
REO Home Inventory Outstripping Current REO Broker Network
“You pretty much need to be breathing and have a license.”
That’s what Chris Tiller, who runs the application process at Fannie Mae had to say about the requirements to become a listing agent for Fannie Mae’s HomePath REO Sales program – very encouraging words for any agent or broker wanting to become a part of the nationwide Fannie …
REO Listings Round-Up: REO Sales Hitting New Peaks
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
More and More REO Inventory Means More Work for REO Agents
At the mid-year point of 2010, it’s clear that earlier predictions were true – REO sales are going to continue to boom as traditional real estate slides into another slump. In June, distressed properties rose to make up 32% of all home sales. In Orlando, a city hit hard by foreclosures, REO sales …
REO Listings: Another Record in New REO Properties
Tuesday, July 13th, 2010
Bank Repossessions Hit New High for Second Month in a Row
Bank repossessions – the actual foreclosure on a home and conversion to an REO (Real Estate Owned) property – hit a record high in May 2010 for the second month in a row, according to foreclosure experts RealtyTrac. Lenders repossessed a total of 93,777 homes, a 1 percent jump from April and a 44 …
REO Listings: Traditional Real Estate “A Fat Man That Can’t Get Up”
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010
REO Properties Sell Strong While Other Homes Languish on Market
“The real estate market is like a fat man that can’t get up.” Those are the words of Glenn Kelman, CEO of the online real estate brokerage firm, Redfin. Kelman went on to say, “The U.S. government has modified loans, extended tax credits, lowered interest rates; we’ve fired a lot of our guns, and …
REO Listings: New Recession To Spur More REO Properties?
Saturday, July 3rd, 2010
A New Downturn Could Create More Foreclosures Than Ever Before
Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor under President Clinton, recently suggested that a new double-dip recession may be on the way. The reason? New employment figures are still dismal, the median wage continues to drop and middle class consumers lack the disposal income to spend.
And there’s plenty of evidence that the housing market will …
REO Listings: Foreclosures Still A Major Force
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Experts Say Housing Recovery Still a Long Way Away
If you’re hearing news that the real estate market is coming back and that foreclosures are going away, you’re hearing from people who aren’t really looking at the facts.
And here are some of those not-very-encouraging facts:
• “60 Minutes” on their May 10th broadcast did a story on homeowners prepared to walk away from their mortgages because they owe …
REO Listings: A Recognized Red-Hot Opportunity
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
“Financial Planning” Magazine Touts REO Homes as “the Best Real Estate Deals”
An article in “Financial Planning” magazine entitled “REO de Dinero” makes the case that buying an REO (Real Estate Owned) home is the smart move in today’s housing market. “There are terrific opportunities in REO properties now,” the magazine quotes John Anderson, co-owner of Twin Oaks Realty in Minneapolis and also on the …
REO LISTINGS: MORE FORECLOSURES, MORE REO SALES
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
The Newest Figures Mean Big News for REO Agents
After a minor lull in the REO market at the end of 2009, the distressed homes market came roaring back in 2010, with short sales and REO properties accounting for over 29% of all home sales this past January. That’s the biggest month for REO sales since July of 2009 and came close to breaking the …
REO LISTINGS: THE PIG IN THE PYTHON
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Foreclosures Boom as the REO “Shadow Inventory” Comes Into the Light
The first three months of 2010 featured a record number of foreclosures, even as many economic experts claim the recession is over.
RealtyTrac Inc. reported that the number of homes in the REO pipeline jumped 35 percent from the first quarter of 2009. More homes became REO properties than in any other …
HOW TO GET REO LISTINGS: BUTTON DOWN YOUR BPO’s
Monday, March 8th, 2010
The Importance of Being Accurate and Complete
If you’re already an REO agent or want to become one, there’s one important thing you have to do to receive a continuous stream of REO listing assignments and BPO orders. And that’s to strive to submit on time, every time, a 100% accurate and complete BPO (Broker Price Opinion).
For those of you unaware of what a BPO …
HOW TO BECOME AN REO AGENT: THE SHADOW INVENTORY
Monday, December 28th, 2009
Finally Some Facts and Figures about Hidden REO Properties
The foreclosure crisis is incredible enough – already offering amazing opportunities for REO agents and brokers. But now there is finally some sunshine lighting up the so-called “shadow inventory” of foreclosure properties that have yet to be officially recorded or to become part of the massive amount of REO listings currently for sale all across America.
Real …
HOW TO BECOME AN REO AGENT AND GET REO LISTINGS
Monday, December 14th, 2009
Breaking Into the Hottest Business Category in Real Estate Today
REO (Real Estate Owned) properties are currently the biggest-selling home category in America. And that’s a situation that’s not about to change soon.
For those of you who don’t know what REOs are all about, when a property goes through a foreclosure process, usually the financial institution that backed the mortgage ends up owning the …
WHEN IS THE TIME TO BECOME AN REO AGENT? NOW!
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
ASREOS an Important Resource for REO Training
One in four mortgages in Florida is either past due or somewhere in the foreclosure process. California foreclosures grew 22% this past October from the previous month – and are up 21% from the previous year.
And the biggest danger sign that the REO boom is very far from over? A new survey from the …
REO LISTINGS TRENDS: FORECLOSURES
Saturday, November 14th, 2009
Commercial REO Property and Secondary Markets Heating Up
If you’re interested in training to be an REO agent, now’s a good time to start. REO sales continue to dominate in many states – and even in Southern California, half of all home sales currently are REO homes. In Las Vegas, that percentage is an amazing 67%, according to MDA DataQuick.
Not only that, but …
REO LISTINGS TRENDS: RECORD FORECLOSURES, RECORD DELINQUINCIES
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Foreclosure Filings Rise 32% Year-to-Year
REO properties will continue to make up a large part of the housing market for some time to come, judging by the latest foreclosure and mortgage data.
In July, foreclosures were up 7% from June – and 32% from July of 2008. 360,000 homes were in some stage of the repossession process and on their way to becoming …
REO LISTINGS TRENDS: FORECLOSURES CONTINUE TO CLIMB
Wednesday, July 29th, 2009
Experts Predict Elevated Levels of Foreclosures for Next Three Years
Just when everyone thought the level of mortgage defaults couldn’t get any worse, it did in the second quarter of 2009.
It’s now clear the REO properties will continue to be a major factor in real estate listings for at least the next three years. Rising unemployment is now predicted to be the …
REO AGENTS BRACING FOR WAVE OF DELUXE FORECLOSURES
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Million-Plus “McMansions” To Be Next Big REO Listing Category
Up until now, the middle class has been hardest hit by plummeting home prices and a bad real estate market. This has resulted in massive mortgage defaults, the tidal wave of foreclosures and the historic high number of REO listings available.
The upper middle class and high-end homeowners who thought they would be able …
REO LISTINGS TRENDS: UNEMPLOYMENT AND HOUSING BUBBLES
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
Why the Housing Market Won’t Improve Soon
While most real estate agents and brokers are desperately searching for signs that the housing market is recovering, those signs are simply not there yet. The foreclosures keep flowing with no let up in sight. And there’s yet another set of statistics that show the current historic high of available REO properties isn’t …
REO LISTINGS: “SAFE” HOMEOWNERS NOW IN TROUBLE TOO
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
The Next Foreclosure Wave is Just Beginning
You probably already saw the news trumpeted at the end of May that said a record 12 percent of homeowners with a mortgage had fallen behind in their payments in the first quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The Association also predicted that the trend would continue until the end of 2010, six months …
Friday, April 24th, 2009
How Reckless Lending Fueled Foreclosures
Everyone knows the economy is bad – and that it all started with the housing crash. Foreclosures continue to fill up the airwaves – but just how bad is it? We often hear conflicting reports – home sales are up, home sales are down – but one man went ahead and examined all the evidence. …
REO PROPERTIES: MILLIONS MORE ON THE WAY
Friday, April 10th, 2009
Mortgage Defaults Continue to Grow at Record Rates
The initial wave of toxic Subprime Mortgages that caused so many foreclosures and put so many REO (Real Estate Owned) properties on the market may have subsided – but the bursting of the housing bubble has caused so much chaos on Wall Street that the entire world economy suffered as a result.
Now, …
REO SALES TO SET MORE RECORDS IN 2009
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
Why the Foreclosure Market Will Continue to Soar
Countrywide Financial regularly updates an online chart showing how the numbers are trending on its REO properties. Back in August, that chart looked like this:
…
REO LISTINGS OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS?
Thursday, February 12th, 2009
The Housing Bubble Pops for the Hollywood’s Elite
In 2008, the U.S. housing market lost over 3 trillion dollars in value – with an overall decline of over 11% of the average house price and over 2.3 million homes going into foreclosure. And things aren’t looking much better so far in 2009.
As a matter of fact, the homeowners who thought they actually …
ASREOS.COM: SERVICING THE REO MARKET BOOM
Monday, December 22nd, 2008
How Foreclosures Have Changed the Housing Market
Let’s state the obvious – the numbers aren’t good. At this moment, home foreclosures in America are up 76% from last year. One in ten homeowners is either delinquent with payments or already in foreclosure. The number of homes projected to face foreclosure in 2008 is at 2.2 million.
That’s meant a huge …
