Foreclosures decline for homes in California

The number of California homes going into foreclosure continued to decline during the third quarter, although indications are that a five-year decline may be leveling off, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a real estate information service.

Lending institutions started foreclosure proceedings on fewer homeowners during the July-to-September period, down 4.3 percent from the prior quarter, and down 11.1 percent from the third quarter in 2000. A Notice of Default is the first step of the formal foreclosure process.

The third-quarter numbers were running about the same as the second-quarter numbers until Sept. 11 when they dropped significantly for the next two weeks, according to DataQuick.

"A lot of processes were put on hold while the country came to grips with what happened," said Mike Ela, president of DataQuick. "As things returned to business as usual, financial institutions began processing their paperwork at pretty much the same pace as before. What will probably happen is that some third-quarter foreclosure activity got nudged into fourth quarter."

Foreclosures seldom occur when a home's value is greater than the amount owed on it, and the decline in foreclosure activity has closely paralleled California's rise in home values. The median price paid for a California home was $235,000 during the third quarter, up 10.8 percent from $212,000 for the same period a year ago.

DataQuick monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, educational institutions, public agencies, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

A total of 5,104 trustees deeds were recorded on homes last quarter. A trustees deed is the final step of the foreclosure process, meaning that the lending institutions took possession of those properties. Last quarter's number was down 27.3 percent from 7,020 a year ago and the lowest since 4,725 were recorded during fourth-quarter 1991, DataQuick reported.

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