Stanislaus Foreclosure Homes Auction Still Laden with Lists
The number of properties entering foreclosure homes auction in Stanislaus County in California is still rising, bucking the statewide decline in foreclosure activity.
In January, 472 residential units in Stanislaus were sold off at the public auction, according to a foreclosure research firm. Lenders took back 404 of the properties and the rest were bought by investors. Despite intensified loan modification efforts in California, completed foreclosures still increased in Stanislaus.
According to the Treasury Department, California had the highest number of mortgage loans modified under the Home Affordable Modification Program since it was launched last year. Over 191,000 trial and permanent modifications have been carried out in California as of January this year. Florida followed with 116,000 modifications and Illinois with 49,000.
In January, the median home sales price in Stanislaus also decreased to $131,750, almost the same as the median in the spring of 2000.
Because of the drop in the median price, home affordability across the county increased. According to the housing opportunity index compiled by Wells Fargo and the National Association of Home Builders, all median-income households in Stanislaus could afford to purchase 84 percent of all houses sold in January, a big improvement from only about 52 percent in 1990.
Home affordability in Stanislaus was at its lowest level during the housing boom in 2005 when the median home sales price shot up to $396,000 and only three percent of houses were affordable to median-income families.
Today, when many properties can be bought at a bargain at foreclosure homes auction, almost any person with a stable job and a good credit score can afford to purchase a home. According to broker Larry Matos, the demand for homes in Stanislaus has exceeded the supply.
According to Matos, while owner occupant buyers do not buy fixer uppers because they do not qualify for Federal Housing Administration loans, a lot of property investors compete to buy them at about 20 to 30 percent of the original price. They pay in cash so they can take over the properties immediately, fix them and then resell them at a profit.
In January, more than 23 percent of house sales in Stanislaus went to investors and nearly 32 percent of all sales were in cash.
Nonetheless, foreclosures still dominated the housing market in Stanislaus in January. Nearly 64 percent of all houses sold in January went through the public foreclosure homes auction before they are snapped up by bidders or taken back by lenders and then resold to buyers.
