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January 02, 2012

US Foreclosure Notices Dip 14 Percent in November
Holiday moratoriums on home seizures for the holiday season led to a decline of about 14 percent in foreclosure-related filings in November. According to the report, a total of 224,394 homes received a notice of default, repossession or auction during the month, or one in 579 US homes. By comparison, the number of homes in some stage of the foreclosure process a month earlier was one in 563. The decline was partially fueled by pledges from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and a number of banks not to evict delinquent homeowners until after the holidays.

While the US housing market has seen some positive signs over the last few months, it still must deal with a load of distressed properties exceeding 14 million. Of those, about 1.5 million are already in some stage of the foreclosure process, while 3.5 million other homeowners are behind in their payments, and at least ten million homeowners are "underwater" on their loans, meaning they owe more on the mortgage than the home is actually worth, a strong incentive for borrowers to just walk away.

Even though total foreclosure-related filings dipped in November, the number of scheduled auctions rose to its highest level in nine months, meaning that seizures are likely to pick up early next year, as well as short sale offerings, in which lenders agree to let borrowers sell their homes for less than what is owed on the mortgage.

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