The CotoBuzz Journal, Community Journalism

The CotoBuzz Journal

Community Journalism, Newsletters and Blogs Covering South Orange County, CA

The CotoBuzz Journal is a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and NAHJ

August 2007 Issue

We do not make jokes, we simply watch the LA Times, the Orange County Register and the Coto de Caza Board of directors and report the facts!

The Real Estate Sky Is Falling!

July 24, 2007

Inman News reports today, Tuesday July 24, 2007 that California mortgage defaults hit 10-year high and that more borrowers expected to lose homes in second half of year. “Roughly half, 54.6 percent, of the homeowners in default emerge from the foreclosure process by bringing their payments current, refinancing, or selling the home and paying off what they owe. A year ago it was 88 percent. The increased portion of homes lost to foreclosure reflects the slow real estate market, as well as the number of homes bought during the height of the market with multiple-loan financing” reads the report.

Similarly, the LA Times reports that “foreclosures in the state during the second quarter totaled 17,408, up 799% from the same period last year. The current rate handily eclipsed the previous foreclosure peak set in 1996, when the state was in the final throes of six-year slump” The article quote Ester Cadavid of Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services as saying: "In the beginning, we were thinking the foreclosures were going to be limited to low-income, high-minority neighborhoods targeted by predatory lenders. Now we are seeing a shift to the middle class. They're in trouble too."