Arizona foreclosure stats for January

I'm a little late with January's foreclosure statistics, so here goes... RealtyTrac reported that foreclosures were on the rise again in January; the nation saw on an 8% increase in foreclosures from December 2007, and a 57% increase from January 2007. Once again Arizona ranks in the top ten of highest foreclosures rates, coming in at number 4.

Arizona saw a 19% increase in foreclosure filings for January, but it's down from December 2007's increase of almost 32%. The state reported foreclosure filings for 9,059 Arizona properties during January. Although there were 1000 more Notice of Trustee sales (NTS) then in December, there were fewer Notice of Defaults (NOD) and Real Estate Owned (REO) properties.

First American CoreLogic released it's quarterly forecast and reported that the Foreclosure Index rose by 22% from a year ago and is currently at it's highest level in six years due to delinquency and default of home loans originating during 2005-2007.

According to the Corelogic forecast home prices have declined more then 5% nationaly, and are down 2.4% from a year ago. Home price declines are gaining momentum; and some cities are seeing double digit declines. Pheonix saw a decline of almost 11.5% in home price appreciation.

There is a strong inventory of homes available in Tucson. I've been contacted by a lot of people that are looking for great deals right now because of all the media hype about our sluggish real estate market. It's a great time to buy if you're looking for an investment and don't need to sell. Buyers are having more difficulty obtaining loans so the competition is not as strong as it was a few years ago. Still anyone interested in buying has got to have their finances in order before they start their search. If a home is in great condition and listed at a great priced then it will sell quickly, even in today's market. That's why it's better to have all your ducks in a row; then you're ready to buy when you find the home that's right for you.