The Homa Files

Excerpted from IBD, “Home A Loan”,  March 06, 2009

A revealing study by researchers at the University of Virginia took a look at foreclosures in all 50 states, 35 metropolitan areas and 236 counties. They found that 66% of potential housing value losses in 2008 and subsequent years may be in California, with another 21% in Florida, Nevada and Arizona, for a total of 87% of national declines.”

What do they have in common? They are Sun Belt states, the location of second homes, investment properties and the playground of flippers who invested in properties hoping to ride the housing bubble to a quick profit. Nevada, California, Arizona and Florida rank first, second, third and fourth in foreclosure activity, together accounting for 55% of foreclosure activity.

One out of 76 homes in Nevada went into foreclosure in January. The figure for California was one out of 173, with Arizona and Florida close behind. In New York state, by contrast, only one out of 2,271 homes went into foreclosure in January.

“California had only 10% of the nation’s housing units, but it had 34% of foreclosures in 2008.”

California was vulnerable to foreclosures because the median value of owner-occupied housing in 2007 was 8.3 times the median family income. The national average was only 3.2 times higher than the median family income.

Full article:
http://www.ibdeditorials.com/IBDArticles.aspx?id=321237777275418 

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