CHARLOTTE, N.C.--Numbers released Thursday by RealtyTrac paint a dismal picture of the foreclosure problem from 2010 and into 2013.
In a press release, the company said:
"RealtyTrac is projecting around 3.9 million properties will receive foreclosure filings in 2010, up from somewhere around 3 million this year (that is also a projection) and 2.3 million in 2008. We believe the numbers will peak in 2010, but that doesn't mean we'll see a quick drop off in the following years. The pattern developing now is the "extend and pretend" model of pushing many foreclosure actions down the road, and if that pattern continues we'll see historically high foreclosure levels continue possibly as far as into 2013."
North Carolina is far better off than most states, rated 37th on RealtyTrac's list of troubled markets. Mecklenburg County is still the worst in the state with 961 foreclosure filings in June.
Gordon Babb, a Keller Williams realtor who analyzes market trends, says foreclosures and short sales make up 30 percent of the properties moving in the Charlotte area. (His numbers consider Cabarrus, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Union, and York Counties plus the areas around Lake Norman, Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake.)
"Activity-wise we are seeing a comeback over the last couple years, but price-wise we’re not," Babb said. "It used to be we were hoping for [a comeback] next year, then it gets pushed out to 2012, it could be around for a while."
Babb and his partner Heidi Sloan say foreclosures are clearly wooing sellers who might otherwise buy traditional homes.
They made up 6 percent of active listings as of June 30, 2010.
Short sales accounted for another 6 percent of what's currently on the market. From January to June though, foreclosures and short sales totalled 24 percent of what was sold.
"When we used to go look at foreclosed homes 5, 6 years ago usually a home was in pretty bad shape and needed a lot of work," Babb said. "But nowadays foreclosures can be really nice homes. A lot of banks are spending money to fix them up and get them marketable--new appliance, new floors, new paint."
Babb says a single foreclosed home may not affect the value of your home because appraisers are noting why homes are priced like they are.
However, he says the general market trends, influenced by foreclosures, may continue to drive down prices, especially in neighborhoods where several homes have been repossessed.
"You can’t get what you could have gotten two years ago anymore," said Rachel Brumblebow, who lives in the Thornblade subdivision in Matthews. "The house across the street was just sold and the house next door to ours was just sold too, but for far less than what they should have been sold for."
