Sonoma County foreclosure activity at five-year low
Foreclosure activity in Sonoma County remains at or near a five-year low, and analysts attribute the slowdown to more short sales, a stronger housing market and more rules on banks.
Foreclosure activity in Sonoma County remains at or near a five-year low, and analysts attribute the slowdown to more short sales, a stronger housing market and more rules on banks.
The number of Sonoma County homeowners entering the formal foreclosure process has dropped to its lowest level in nearly five years. DataQuick, A San Diego-based real estate information service, reports that 698 homeowners received notices of default in the first quarter of the year. That is down 19 percent from a year earlier and amounts to the lowest total for any quarter since 462 notices were filed in the second quarter of 2007.
Bay Area home sales in March reached their highest level in five years, which analysts attributed to lower prices, low interest rates and an improving economy.
Bay Area home sales rose 14 percent in February as investors and cash buyers snapped up properties at record rates.
Bay Area home sales jumped 10 percent last month, the best January sales level in five years.
Foreclosure activity dropped significantly in Sonoma County at the end of last year, but analysts weren’t sure whether it was due to some improvement in the housing market.
Bay Area home sales increased in September from a year earlier, but the results remained significantly below historic levels. The nine-county region reported the sale of 6,749 homes and condominiums last month, according to San Diego-based DataQuick.
Bay Area home sales rose in August, but some analysts worried that the region’s housing market was still “plagued by uncertainty.”
Sonoma County homeowners received 738 default notices between March and June, according to DataQuick, a San Diego-based real estate information service.
California real estate agents are applauding a new law that prevents all lenders from pursuing homeowners who sell their properties via a process known as a short sale.