Foreclosure Activity and Unemployment

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association the number of households which are behind 30 days or more on their mortgage payments has declined from 14.4% to 13.5%. As for loans which are more than 3 consecutive payments in default or in foreclosure, the number dropped to 8.7% - the lowest since the second quarter of 2009.

Banks continued to report an increase in loan modification approvals - Bank of America saw a 52% increase over the previous month. The moratorium on foreclosures remains in force for most of the major banks.

Housing starts fell by 11.7% in October over the previous month down to a seasonally adjusted rate of 519,000 – an 18 month low.

All the above factors suggest low housing inventories in the months to come.

Bay Area Home Sale Activity

Bay Area home sales generally saw a decline in October sales by more than 20% compared to the same period last year. Prices fell by approximately 2%. The slowdown is attributable in large part to the expiry of the federal tax credit.

Ruby Hill Experiences Seasonal Slowdown

The seasonal slowdown is on. There has been very little movement in the number of homes which have sold or gone pending since last month’s report. Three homes came off the market – one was rented, a couple of them were withdrawn. One expired listing made its way back. Several expired listings have not come back on the market this year as sellers hold back from selling in a declining price market. Another bank owned home came on the market – 1371 Germano Way.


November 30, 2010      Total                Bank owned share             Short Sale Share

Active                             18                        2                                        0

Pending                           12                        0                                        4

Sold to date 2010*         52                        3                                         8

*COE 01/01/10 or later



Last year a total of 43 homes sold/went pending as compared to 64 so far this year – clearly a significant improvement, despite lower prices.

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