‘They don’t qualify, but they’re given a loan anyway.’” ‘There are so many loans out there that have set people up to fail,’ said Carol Lee, manager of the Hamilton Federal Credit Union in Novato, said. “The number of home foreclosures initiated in Marin from January to March increased 55 percent over the first quarter of last year. “‘There’s still a pretty strong chance there’s a general decline in prices around the region and the state,’ he said.” Levy said that with foreclosure activity high and lenders bottlenecking the number of qualified buyers, the housing market will be oversaturated with homes.” “Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, said he doesn’t believe the housing market has reached bottom. ‘It may not be enough to cover its fees.’” “‘It will be harder for people there to pull out of their tailspin, even if they can sell the house,’ he said.
“DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage said those being served with default notices now were part of the ‘peak lending period of mid-2005.’ LePage said Solano County has experienced five months of median home price declines.” Foreclosure activity has tripled in the East Bay during the past 12 months.” “Contra Costa and Solano counties saw their mortgage default notices reach an all-time high in the first part of 2007, with foreclosure activity rising more than 200 percent from last year.
He predicts foreclosures will top out at four or five times the current level, enough, he says, to either induce a recession or at least bring the economy to the precipice.” “‘For this rise in foreclosures to be happening in the midst of a strong labor market is truly unique and scary,’ said economist Christopher Thornberg. “In addition, 46,760 homeowners were sent default notices in the first quarter, DataQuick reported.” The 11,033 foreclosures in the first three months of the year represent an 800% increase over the same period a year earlier.” “Nearly 900 Californians a week are losing their homes because they can’t afford to pay the mortgage, up from about 100 a week a year ago, providing fresh evidence that the housing market’s troubles are nowhere near over.