The Foreclosure Wave Has Swamped Placer Country
Placer County, California, located in the Sierra Nevada portion of the state is home to over 300,000 people. While not a thriving metropolis like Los Angeles Placer County has found itself right in the middle of the foreclosure crunch that is rocking the rest of the country.
Every business day in the region an average of 85 people lost their homes to lenders, near double the number of foreclosures from June, according to Fair Oaks-based Foreclosures.com, a Web site for real estate investors.
The foreclosures have forced home prices down. According to DataQuick, the median sales prices for all new and existing homes combined – where half the homes sell for more and half sell for less – have returned to June 2003 levels in Sacramento County and to December 2003 levels in Placer County.
Local real estate expert, Shawn LeBaron, gave insight to the ongoing foreclosure situation in Placer County.
Following suit with the rest of the United States, the root cause for the foreclosure problem here mirrors the rest of the country with speculation buying and overbuilding by huge new home builders leading to a rise in inventory levels as the demand for homes flattened. Later as more and more foreclosures come on the market this has continued to increase the inventory levels, which has put a huge downward pressure on prices. This has had a domino effect as each problem feeds the other. Placer County's $360,500 median sales price for new and existing homes combined is down 14.9 percent from a year ago, and 31.4 percent off its August 2005 peak of $525,000.
All types of residences have felt the effects with the working middle-class feeling the pinch hardest. Attempting to stop foreclosure in Placer County has never been harder.
Foreclosure filings here did seem to lag the rest of the country in the beginning with only a trickle of Notice Of Default filings reported in 2006, increasing to a major flow in 2007, and rising to a roaring torrent in 2008. Worse yet is the belief by local experts that the peak has not been realized, with little hope of seeing one in 2008.
As is the case across most of the country there is no direct involvement from the local or state government in the form of relief. Many homeowner associations and cities in the county are trying to pass laws to make the banks responsible for the maintenance of the lawns for the real estate owner properties. This will lead to huge fines, which the bank will pass on to the new buyers.
Options for homeowners to stop foreclosure in Placer County remain limited. Many are listing their homes for sale, but have trouble selling because the agents have gotten burned by the short sale process. Many agents will not even show a short sale to their clients, and with a lack of other options more and more homeowners are walking away
The overall real estate picture shows overall prices in the county have fallen this year as inventory has decreased. When the inventory levels for the county get to around 6 months of inventory, the prices tend to stabilize. This hasn't happened often as most of the cities range from 12 to 18 months of inventory.
No place is safe from the foreclosure epidemic gripping the country. Placer County with its relatively small population is facing a big problem, one that seems to be here to stay for the time being.
Victim or Victor - the Choice is YoursYou could lose everything or you could come out of this with more than you ever thought possible. It all rides on your decision to contact us. The sooner you do that, the better the outcome. Get started and stop foreclosure now by answering a few questions for us . To Talk to Someone Now Call: 1-888-I-SAVE-80 There's no obligation. In fact the initial consultation is FREE. And that may be all you'll need to stop the foreclosure for good. Learn what you can do to avoid or stop foreclosure. |