Skip navigation
MOST POPULAR RELATED TAGS
  • TOPICS
  • SECTORS
  • COMPANIES
 

  Current Housing Indicators
CURRENTPREVIOUS
Existing Home Sales4.99m4.89m
New Home Sales512,000525,000
Housing Starts975,0001.008m
Building Permits969,000982,000
HMI88.283.0
Existing Home Prices$208,600▼ (annually)$222,700
New Home Prices$231,000▼ (annually)$245,000
 
Realty Check Video Gallery
Foreclosures are not getting any better, reports Diana Olick
As homebuilders continue to report heavy losses, some investors think now may be the time to get in. CNBC's Diana Olick ...
 
HOMEBUILDERS TOP 10 INDEX
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
See all Realty Check PostsRealty Check with Diana Olick
Font size:
Nov.14
11:52 AM ET
Wednesday, 14 Nov 2007
Foreclosure Numbers: Trust Me, Housing Crisis NOT Any Better

Realty Trac
CNBC.com

The new RealtyTrac metro foreclosure report is out today, and that means I have to say a bunch of shocking numbers on TV and then get to hear from all of you that I am skewing the numbers or focusing on the wrong stats. Let’s set it straight once and for all.

The report is chock full of massive percentage increases, like that foreclosure filings in Stockton, CA are up 465% from the third quarter of 2006. Now I realize that in a small market, if just a few houses go into foreclosure, then that makes the percentage increase huge (yes, I did attend 5th grade math class). There are, according to the report, 4,409 properties with foreclosure filings on them in Stockton, far fewer than the 16,079 properties with filings on them in Detroit.

Still, Stockton posts a higher foreclosure “rate” than Detroit, because of its size. That is, there is one foreclosure filing for every 31 households in Stockton, versus one in 33 households in Detroit, again, I reiterate, because of the size. The percentage increase for Detroit over last year is a mere 93%. Why? Because things there were pretty bad last year as well.

But think about it: if you live in a city where one in every 31 houses is either empty or has a big “Foreclosed” sign in front, then you’re probably seeing at least one of those houses every day as you’re doing your daily doings. Talk about an economic confidence-buster.

So what do I glean from all this? Well, in California, Florida, Nevada, all the foreclosure hot spots, rates are going up, number of properties in foreclosure is going up, and it’s all far worse than last year. I counted, and of the top 100 markets in the country, only 16 are actually showing a decrease in foreclosure rates.

No matter how you slice it, the housing crisis is not getting better.

Questions?  Comments? 

© 2008 CNBC, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Permalink: /id/21774999

HOME  |  NEWS  |  MARKETS  |  EARNINGS  |  INVESTING  |  VIDEO  |  CNBC TV  |  CNBC PLUS  |  CNBC HD+
About CNBC   |   Site Map   |   Privacy Policy   |   Terms of Service   |   Advertise   |   Help   |   Feedback   |   Video Reprints
  Data is a real-time snapshot   *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes

Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis