Real Property
Foreclosure Activity Free-Falls in Calif. Because of New Notice Law
Posted Oct 20, 2008, 10:50 am CST
By Molly McDonough
Foreclosure activity in California plummeted in September, largely because of a new state law that requires lenders to contact homeowners in advance of foreclosure filings.
So dramatic is the drop in activity—down 61.8 percent from August levels—that monthly foreclosure stats are worthless as barometers of housing market conditions, according to the Los Angeles Times blog LAT Home.
The blog references a post on the website ForeclosureRadar.com, which notes that California's numbers may impact nationwide stats because California represents a third of all domestic foreclosure activity.
The root of the drop is California Senate Bill 1137, which, as the Times reports, requires lenders to contact homeowners, and then wait 30 days before filing foreclosure notices.