5,959 Homes Offered For Sale on Bank of America (Countrywide) Website

Total REO Asking Price: $941,083,901
(As of October 7, 2009)
Source: http://www.countrywide.com/purchase/f_reo.asp

Click on state below for detailed listings.

State	Count	Total Asking Price($)	Average Asking Price($)
AK	12	2,244,800	187,067
AL	127	18,947,870	149,196
AR	37	4,064,200	109,843
AZ	190	28,948,999	152,363
CA	1,278	299,602,269	234,431
CO	116	21,000,599	181,040
CT	34	8,576,499	252,250
DC	15	3,437,500	229,167
DE	09	967,200	107,467
FL	400	51,611,056	129,028
GA	283	29,506,982	104,265
HI	40	16,958,536	423,963
IA	20	1,977,500	98,875
ID	58	10,395,700	179,236
IL	245	32,827,196	133,989
IN	119	7,972,696	66,997
KS	47	3,374,499	71,798
KY	45	3,183,615	70,747
LA	37	4,856,992	131,270
MA	64	9,128,301	142,630
MD	127	25,665,531	202,091
ME	18	1,182,699	65,706
MI	345	21,712,506	62,935
MN	180	25,092,899	139,405
MO	109	11,415,399	104,728
MS	52	5,170,200	99,427
MT	21	6,781,300	322,919
NC	135	19,967,988	147,911
ND	04	277,600	69,400
NE	11	1,225,900	111,445
NH	31	4,836,700	156,023
NJ	79	14,208,300	179,852
NM	12	2,017,451	168,121
NV	134	20,626,300	153,928
NY	140	27,183,599	194,169
OH	125	8,506,714	68,054
OK	62	6,440,301	103,876
OR	78	18,313,600	234,790
PA	82	7,529,949	91,829
RI	20	2,055,000	102,750
SC	60	6,222,893	103,715
SD	08	1,262,100	157,763
TN	132	18,531,845	140,393
TX	381	45,514,298	119,460
UT	45	10,947,471	243,277
VA	172	29,993,799	174,383
VT	02	553,800	276,900
WA	120	27,653,550	230,446
WI	67	7,292,600	108,845
WV	29	3,120,800	107,614
WY	02	197,800	98,900
Total	5,959	941,083,901	150,915

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Bush: 'An Extraordinary Period For America's Economy'

And if you watched the clip... be sure to read Roubini's latest for a better definition of 'extraordinary': Is Purchasing $700 billion of Toxic Assets the Best Way to Recapitalize the Financial System? No! It is Rather a Disgrace and Rip-Off Benefitting only the Shareholders and Unsecured Creditors of Banks

"So this rescue plan is a huge and massive bailout of the shareholders and the unsecured creditors of the financial firms (not just banks but also other non bank financial institutions); with $700 billion of taxpayer money the pockets of reckless bankers and investors have been made fatter under the fake argument that bailing out Wall Street was necessary to rescue Main Street from a severe recession. Instead, the restoration of the financial health of distressed financial firms could have been achieved with a cheaper and better use of public money."

emphasis added

And a video clip below of Jim Rogers calling Paulson's Plan 'Welfare for the Rich':




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BIS Warns on Global Economy: A Deeper and More Protracted Downturn.

The BIS, also known as the Central Bank of Central Banks, is one of the most respected economic institutions. Prior to the start of the subprime crisis, I had posted an article where the BIS warned and in essence, predicted this current crisis. Now, the BIS is warning again. This time, with the threat of deflation!

BIS:

"The eventual global slowdown could prove to be much greater and longer lasting than would be required to keep inflation under control. This could potentially even lead to deflation, which would evidently be less welcome."

"In the aftermath of a long credit-driven boom, it would not be surprising to see turmoil in financial markets, slowing real growth and temporarily rising inflation."

The Fed also believes that inflationary pressures will eventually come down as growth slows. The only difference being that a rebound in growth seems unlikely as this recession could last well over a year. Professor Shiller is not kidding when he says more stimulus will be needed. See: One Rebate Isn't Enough - New York Times

Inflation will probably still be the main theme this month, as the oil bubble (a.k.a. "oil crisis") continues to dominate. The price of a barrel of oil could easily spike to $200 if the conflict with Iran escalates within the next few weeks. If this be the case, then Professor Roubini deserves some serious credit for making the call. See: Rising Risk of a Military Confrontation between Israel and Iran? - Nouriel Roubini

It seems quite possible that a coordinated effort among central banks could be in the cards. See: BIS slams central banks, warns of worse crunch to come - UK Telegraph


About BIS
The Bank for International Settlements (or BIS) is an international organization of central banks which exists to foster cooperation among central banks and other agencies in pursuit of monetary and financial stability. It carries out its work through subcommittees, the secretariats it hosts, and through its annual General Meeting of all members. The BIS also provides banking services, but only to central banks, or to international organizations like itself. Based in Basel, Switzerland, the BIS was established by the Hague agreement of 1930

BIS 78th Annual Report (30 June 2008)

Over One Million Homes In Foreclosure

A grim first quarter report from the Mortgage Bankers Association's shows the housing crisis is getting worse. Mortgage delinquencies rose in the first quarter to 6.35%.

From CNN:

The Mortgage Bankers Association's first quarter report showed that a record 2.5% of all home loans being serviced by its members are now in foreclosure, which works out to about 1.1 million homes. That's up from the 2% of loans, or about 938,000 homes, that were in foreclosure at the end of 2007.

The report also showed that 448,000 homes, or about 1% of loans being serviced, began the foreclosure process during the first quarter. That's up from about 382,000 homes, or 0.83%, that entered foreclosure in the last three months of 2007.

This marks the sixth straight quarter in which a record percentage of loans went into foreclosure. The trend has led to widespread declines in home prices, as well as huge losses for banks and other financial firms that issued or invested in the loans.

Read full article >>


The problems in California and Florida are extraordinary and they are the main drivers of the national trend. The quarterly rate of foreclosure starts on subprime ARM loans in California was 9.24 percent. This rate, combined with Florida’s rate of 8.25 percent, drove up the national average foreclosure start rate to the point where 43 states were below the national average of 6.32 percent. California saw a total of approximately 109,000 foreclosure starts and Florida 77,000. The next highest states were Texas, Michigan and Ohio with between 24,000 and 20,000 each.


Here's a direct link to latest MBA National Delinquency Survey.

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It ‘Makes No Sense’ To Continue Paying The Mortgage When The Value Of Your Home Stops Going Up.

60 Minutes On The New Logic Behind Foreclosures.

Okay, I'm kidding but Stephanie Valdez is not. Matt and Stephanie Valdez are a couple who can afford to continue paying their mortgage payments but see no point in making them. Is it really worth it to continue making payments on an underwater mortgage and at 11% [usury] interest rate? “There is a certain cold logic to just walking away”, says Steve Kroft.

But Matt and Stephanie Valdez say they knew exactly what they were doing when they bought a small two-bedroom for $355,000. They could afford the initial payments and planned to refinance the mortgage before the interest rate jumped to 11 percent. But they couldn't do it because the value of the house had fallen below what they owed on the mortgage. They say they can afford the higher payments, but see no point in making them.

"The house keeps going down, payments keep going up. Where's the logic in that? And how can we fix it? I mean, that's what this whole thing's about for us is how can we fix this? And if we can't fix it, then what do we do?" Matt Valdez asks.

"Why pay a $3,200 payment on a 1200-square-foot home? It makes no sense," Stephanie Valdez adds.

"That's what you agreed to do when you bought the house," Kroft points out.

"Fine. If the value is going up. But we're not going anywhere. The price or the value is going down. It makes no sense because we will never be able to refinance and get a lower payment. There's no way," Stephanie Valdez replies.

"You're saying, essentially, that you're going to stop making payments on it? You're just gonna let it go into foreclosure?" Kroft asks.

"You know, that's the only advice we've gotten so far is walk away from the home. We don't want to do that to our credit. Why can't our mortgage company work with us?" she says.

The full video does a nice job at explaining the whole ponzi scheme. Also from Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Does 60 Minutes Legitimize Walking Away?

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Over 2,000 bank owned homes to be auctioned off in California starting this weekend (Jan 26 - Feb 24)

It appears that REDC (US Home Auctions) is going to be quite busy this month and earning some nice commissions (5% “Buyers Premium”). If you visit their site and click on an area, there is a detailed break down on all the homes being offered and an option to download them to an excel file. REDC also lists what the previous REO asking prices were. Adding up that column comes up to about $650 million worth of REO that "MUST BE SOLD" in one month (11 auctions). Lenders are now in liquidation mode as foreclosures continue to climb. (Dataquick: California Foreclosure Activity Still Rising)

While obvious that we still haven't hit the "bottom" yet as far as home prices are concerned, and according to a Merrill Lynch report, home prices will drop another 15 percent this year, and declines will continue in 2009. The unknown is just how serious will the upcoming recession be? The FED is in full battle now in fighting against a monstrous deflationary force caused from the collapse of the housing bubble.

Should I buy yet? It really depends on your area. Real estate is local to a greater extent, just make sure you get a good deal, and by that I mean a very good deal. If you can negotiate a good price and intend to live there, I'm guessing you should be okay (yes, i did say guessing). Mortgage rates are at a 2 year low and expected to come down even further. This will make a difference and will bring in a lot of people who were on the sidelines back into the market. Okay, I'm starting to sound like a Realtor(TM) now. Simply put, I don't believe you should put your life on hold waiting for the absolute bottom and in some areas it may not turn out as you expect.

Be sure to do your homework and figure out what a property would rent for and and compare that to what your monthly mortgage payments would be. Here's a calculator from the New York Times and another one from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (2005). If you are looking to buy and flip a house, then be sure to check out one of my favorite sites on flipping houses. Good Luck to all those attending the auctions and be very careful on how you bid.


Update: (And thanks Bubble Sitter for posting this)

“US Home Auctions allow SHILL BIDDING. The quote below is right out if their brochure (and this is the second time I have posted this quote on your web site):”

“On page 122 paragraph 3, I quote verbatim: ‘Except where prohibited by law, the Auctioneer may open bidding on any property by placing a bid on behalf of the Seller and may further bid on behalf of the Seller, up to the amount of the reserve price, by placing successive or consecutive bids for a Property, or by placing bids in response to other bidders.’”

“Your advice to be very careful is right on the mark. US Home Auctions wants to get the bidding going and get people invested in time and effort, then PUMP THEM UP!”

“BE CAREFUL INDEED.”

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