Date Line 02-08-2011--Is The Real Estate Market About to ‘Bottom Out’?

I really get asked this question a LOT!

Is the real estate market turning around?

Well, I think it’s still really too early to tell for sure yet. According to a RealtyTrc* article I read recently, the USA had a record year in 2010 with over 1 million properties foreclosed upon by lenders.

But, in the midst of this bad news is some good news. New defaults dropped 20 percent in 2010. This marks a first reversal, since 2005, in the trend of increasing defaults and foreclosures. If this trend continues, it may indicate the market is hitting bottom and the foreclosure cycle could be at its peak. In 2011 lenders may finally be able to start clearing out the backlog of distressed loans built up over the past five years.

Obviously there are still some concerns. The risks of continued high unemployment, the number of existing properties with negative equity and the resetting of adjustable rate mortgage loans, ARM’s, could trigger further a foreclosure aftershock. This is, however the first positive sign I have noticed in the statistics on defaults and foreclosures

I believe, for this positive trend to continue, we need to see the general overall economy start to pick up.

Video: 2010 Year-End Foreclosure Report

View top 10 states for REOs

* RealtyTrac is the leading company in the USA tracking defaults, foreclosures filings and bank owned properties.