Foreclosure proceedings commenced by lenders between July and September in California jumped on a quarter-to-quarter basis for the first time since early 2009, according to MDA DataQuick. But the number of homeowners who moved all the way to foreclosure fell from the prior quarter and a year ago, the San Diego-based real estate information service reported.
Some 83,261 notices of default (NODs) were posted at county recorder offices from the July to September period. That figure represents an 18.9 percent increase from 70,051 in the prior quarter and a decrease of 25.5 percent from 111,689 in Q3 2009, Data Quick said.
The numbers crested in Q1 2009, when 135,431 NODs were filed. Last quarter’s NOD count was 81.2 percent higher than the statewide quarterly average of 45,940 NODs recorded over the past 15 years.
The impact of the current turmoil surrounding the country’s foreclosure processes and legal case documentation has yet to materialize in the numbers.
“Over the past year, with some minor ups and downs, financial institutions and their servicers have been processing a fairly steady number of defaults each quarter. That probably has more to do with their capacity to process defaults, than with higher or lower levels of incoming distress,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.
The movement of mortgage defaults from lower-cost submarkets into pricier enclaves has retreated somewhat.
The most budget-friendly ZIP codes in California-representing 25 percent of total housing stock-represented 41.2 percent of all default activity last quarter, up from 40 percent the previous quarter. Those less costly markets comprised 53.3 percent of all default notices filed in Q4 2007.
Together, the state’s high-cost sectors saw mortgage default patterns fly in the face of the market-wide trend and dip slightly quarter-to-quarter. They slid a bit more on a year-over-year basis compared with the overall market.
California’s 83 ZIPs with median sale prices above $800,000 this year registered a 1 percent quarter-to-quarter drop in default notices and a 28.3 percent yearly decrease.
ZIP codes with below-$200,000 median sale prices in 2010 saw third-quarter defaults leap 24.5 percent from Q2 and tumble 21.1 percent from a year ago.
The concentration of California defaults continues to post markedly higher in less expensive areas. ZIPs with sub-$200,000 median sale prices jointly saw 14.4 NODs filed in the third quarter for every 1,000 homes in those communities. That number compares with 2.7 NODs filed per 1,000 homes in ZIP codes with $800,000-plus medians and 9.5 NODs filed per 1,000 homes statewide.
NODs filed throughout the state on $800,000-plus home loans accounted for 2.9 percent of all such notices recorded in the third quarter, down from 3.4 percent in the second quarter and 3.5 percent a year earlier.
The lenders that originated the most loans that went into default last quarter were Countrywide, Bank of America, and World Savings.
The number of trustees deeds (TDs) recorded, which reflects the number of houses and condos foreclosed on, totaled 45,377 during the third quarter. DataQuick says that was down 4.8 percent from 47,669 in the prior quarter, and down 9.3 percent from 50,013 for third-quarter 2009.