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Repos hit another record in Q2. On a high note, June marks third straight monthly decrease in overall foreclosure filings.
 
3:40pm | Now that BP’s infamous well has been capped, another damaging leak that’s hurting the entire nation, including Long Beach, needs a little attention.

RealtyTrac today released its Midyear 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows a total of 1.9 million foreclosure filings were reported in the first six months of 2010, an 8% increase from the first six months of 2009. The report also shows that one in 78 households received at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of the year.

"The roller coaster pattern of foreclosure activity over the past 12 months demonstrates that while the foreclosure problem is being managed on the surface, a massive number of distressed properties and underwater loans continues to sit just below the surface, threatening the fragile stability of the housing market," a RealtyTrac executive warned in the report.

The good news is that the nearly 2 million foreclosure-figure is actually a 5% drop from the previous six months—if one wants to really look hard to find some good news there.
 
For the month of June foreclosure filings were reported on 313,841 properties, which, according to the RealtyTrac report, is a decrease of nearly 3% from the previous month and a decrease of nearly 7% from June 2009. June was the 16th straight month where the total number of properties with foreclosure filings exceeded 300,000.
 
Here’s some more good(ish) news in the report: foreclosure filings were reported on 895,521 properties in the second quarter, down nearly 4% from the previous quarter. Default and auction notices were down on a month-over-month and year-over-year basis in the first quarter, although bank repossessions increased 5% from the previous quarter and rose 38% from the second quarter of 2009 to 269,962 foreclosures. That’s a new quarterly high.
 
"The second quarter was a tale of two trends," James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement. "The pace of properties entering foreclosure slowed as lenders pre-empted or delayed foreclosure proceedings on delinquent properties with more aggressive short sale and loan modification initiatives. Meanwhile the pace of properties completing the foreclosure process through bank repossession quickened as lenders cleared out a backlog of distressed inventory delayed by foreclosure prevention efforts in 2009. The midyear numbers put us on pace to exceed 3 million properties with foreclosure filings by the end of the year, and more than 1 million bank repossessions."
 
Nevada posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate during the six-month period with nearly one in 17 of all housing units there receiving at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of 2010, despite decreasing foreclosure activity there. Arizona had the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate with one in 30 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2010. Florida was third with one in 32 units receiving a foreclosure filing.
 
California, Florida, Arizona posted the highest foreclosure totals. Nearly 350,000 California properties received a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2010. However, that was down 15% from the previous six months and down nearly 13% from the first six months of 2009.
 
Unlike the tragic oil spill, you don’t hear much—or not enough, in my opinion—about stemming the tide of foreclosures being unleashed, or about to be unleashed, by banks on the American public.

However, earlier this week, New York City comptroller John C. Liu and six large unions announced plans to begin a campaign to press the biggest banks to do more to prevent foreclosures in the New York area, according to an article in the New York Times. Liu and the groups plan to send a letter to a handful of the nation’s largest lenders criticizing them for dragging their feet on modifying mortgages that are underwater or delinquent. The letter will also ask the banks to immediately name a high-level official to handle appeals of borrowers who are denied mortgage loan modifications, according to the Times article.

In Utah, the National Home Retention Advocacy Program is asking state lawmakers to pass a law that basically forces banks to sit down for mediation with a homeowner before they foreclose.

But will any such efforts work?

My other question is this: What the heck are banks doing with that nearly $1 trillion in pretty much no strings attached dough the government gave them without hesitation to save our economy in the first place? Certainly not helping underwater homeowners, small businesses and those who need help. As a taxpayer, I’d like to start a call to ask for that money back. Who is with me?

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