Foreclosure Statistics Vary According To Job Market
Depending on which part of the country in which you live, the foreclosure statistics may be higher than in other areas. Many times, a review of foreclosure statistics show the cities and parts of the country with a high unemployment rate also have high incidents of home foreclosures, as the residents have trouble earning enough money to pay their mortgage.
When reviewing foreclosure statistics to determine a housing market's strength, there are some other figures to take into consideration such as home values, tax assessed value and the population figures. In some areas, higher home values do not automatically signify an increase in foreclosure, in fact in some communities it is the middle house price that take a beating while the higher-value homes escape the auctioneer's gavel.
Another major consideration is the fact that when so-called experts report foreclosure statistics the number being read are of those on which foreclosure proceedings have begun, not the ones that made it through the process of being auctioned. The real number of homes being auctioned is under 10 percent of those on which proceedings are begun and throws off the livability index in some areas of the country and gives a downside to the housing market.
Two Groups Fall Into Foreclosure Statistics Category
When foreclosure proceedings begin, there are two types of properties involved, one with equity in the property and one without. The reason many houses do not make it all the way through to the auction block, is the homes with equity can be sold quickly, often at less-than market value, to help the owners avoid the process. The ones without equity can throw off foreclosure statistics due to the length of the foreclosure process, and can be affected by the appreciation of the property's value.
For example, in an area where appreciation can be as high as 20 percent, it will not take long for equity to quickly add up, allowing the owner time to sell the home at the current balance and maybe have a few bucks left over with which to move. This process would then remove this property from the chopping block, but it still became part of the foreclosure statistics in that community.
To accurately use foreclosure statistics as a measurement of a communities housing market, it would have to show both sets of numbers; the initial foreclosure filings and those that are sold at auction. Otherwise, only part of the picture is being shown and property values could go down by using incomplete foreclosure statistics.
