Valley pre-foreclosures increased 33% in July

More Phoenix-area homeowners are falling behind on their mortgages or "walking away" from them. The number of pre-foreclosures in the region jumped 33 percent in July.

Last month, there were 7,804 notice-of-trustee sales, or pre-foreclosure filings, according to Information Market, a real-estate research firm. That compares with 5,833 in June. July's figure signals the biggest monthly jump for new foreclosure filings in more than a year.

The recent increase in pre-foreclosures could be due partially to homeowners who are illegal residents walking away from their houses and mortgage payments due to concerns over Arizona's new immigration law. Last week, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked key provisions of Arizona's new immigration law from taking effect.

Actual foreclosures or trustee-sale filings climbed as well in July but not by nearly as much as pre-foreclosures. Lenders foreclosed on 4,651 Valley homes last month, compared with 4,584 in June. It typically takes four to six months for an increase in pre-foreclosures to translate to an increase in foreclosures in Phoenix.

The federal home-loan-modification program has worked to slow foreclosures, although not as much as housing advocates had hoped. Any pre-foreclosures filed against homeowners who have walked away or left the state will end up as foreclosures.

Already, the recent increase in foreclosure filings is putting pressure on Phoenix-area home prices.

There are about 6,025 houses in the Valley classified on real-estate documents as rentals that are in foreclosure, Netvaluecentral Inc. reports. The figure has climbed by more than 200 in two months.

Netvalue has a site open to the public that allows the region's renters to see if the home they're leasing is in foreclosure: www.aznvc.com.


by Catherine Reagor The Arizona Republic August 4, 2010 12:00 AM




Valley pre-foreclosures increased 33% in July