PAX AUCTION NEWS!
Despite surge in homes up for auction, values holding fairly steady, experts say
Foreclosure postings continue to rise in several Central Texas
counties, the latest figures show, although experts note that the
numbers are inflated by a high number of repeat postings, which account
for almost half the total.
They also say the sales of foreclosed homes aren't measurably
affecting home values in the region, in part because they represent
such a small fraction of the supply of homes for sale.
In Travis County, foreclosure postings for the July 7 auction rose
117 percent to 782, according to Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.
Williamson County had 452 postings, up 111 percent.
Postings rose 104 percent in Hays County, to 143, and 72 percent in Bastrop County, to 86.
Hugh Parrish, a longtime Austin real estate broker, said numbers are
high because of a backlog caused by various government and lender
moratoriums and programs under which banks are modifying some loans so
the homeowner can afford the payments and avoid losing the house.
Lenders have kept those postings alive to protect their right to seize the homes if something can't be worked out.
Parrish, broker/owner of Parrish and Associates Realtors, said
postings for Travis County would be somewhere in the 500 to 550 range,
"if there had not been the push for modifications and the push for
moratoriums."
"I expect that the 700 number is probably what we're going to see
through this year and into next year," he said. "I don't think it will
rise substantially."
But Parrish noted that Travis' postings represent "well under 1 percent" of the total homes in Central Texas.
George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service, also
said that lenders are overwhelmed by rising delinquencies and requests
for loan modifications, and so things are moving slowly.
So far, the sale of distressed and foreclosed properties doesn't
seem to be affecting home values to any significant degree, said Jim
Gaines, a research economist at the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M
University, although "it might be dragging it down a little bit."
Noting that Central Texas' median home sales price in May was down
only 1 percent from a year ago, he said, "that's a good sign. It means
the market itself is pretty strong."
Parrish, who represents Fannie Mae and other lenders in selling
foreclosed homes, said such sales aren't having "a huge impact on home
values at this time."
"We're not giving away these foreclosure houses. They are not for
steal; they're for sale," Parrish said. "We price them at market and
are selling them at market."
Parrish said that, historically, 75 percent of all loans that are modified end up back in default within a year.
"Even with a modification, a lot of these properties are still going
to eventually go back into default status or be foreclosed on," Parrish
said.
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