What We're Hearing

According to a report in The Orange County Register, servicers are seizing fewer homes along Orange County's coast than inland, but they are taking longer to find buyers for those foreclosures. The newspaper quotes a new report by DataQuick, plus interviews it conducted with local real estate experts. Meanwhile, the nation's unemployment rate will be key to forecasting future home foreclosures. Keep in mind that unemployment checks last for a standard 26 weeks. In some cases consumers are eligible for additional benefits, because, as one analyst noted, "through a combination of federal and state addendums, the maximum eligibility period is over 60 weeks in duration." It's assumed that (some) consumers use their unemployment check to help pay the mortgage. But servicers have to wonder: with more auto layoffs looming and GM and Chrysler closing thousands of dealerships how much more bad employment news can states like Michigan, Indiana and Ohio take?..