Sacramento Foreclosures 8x 90s Record

From the Sacramento Bee:

More than 7,600 Sacramento-area homeowners surrendered their keys to the bank in July, August and September as foreclosures in the region and state showed no signs of leveling off, according to the newest statistics from La Jolla-based MDA DataQuick. The Sacramento region recorded almost 10 percent of the state's 79,511 foreclosures during the third quarter, the newest numbers show.

Sacramento County Foreclosures
2008 Q3: 5,643 (up 173.3% YoY)
1997 Q2: 703 (1990s record)

Sacramento County Notices of Defaults
2008 Q3: 5,541 (up 12.0% YoY)
1997 Q1: 2,441 (1990s record)

From DQ News:

Of the [California] homeowners in default, an estimated 20 percent emerge from the foreclosure process by bringing their payments current, refinancing, or selling the home and paying off what they owe. A year ago it was about 46 percent.

From the CVBT:

Stockton in the Central Valley continues to lead the nation in foreclosures, despite the buffer of the a new state law delaying initial foreclosure actions...Stockton took the top spot, with 3.69 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Stockton's foreclosure activity was down 9 percent from the previous quarter but still up 87 percent from the third quarter of 2007 [according to RealtyTrack].

Other California cities in the top 10 for foreclosure rate were Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 3, Bakersfield at No. 4, Sacramento at No. 7, Fresno at No. 9 and Oakland at No. 10.

From the Sacramento Bee:

As property tax bills land in mailboxes across the region, county assessors are reporting record numbers of complaints and assessment appeals from homeowners who assume – in the midst of a declining housing market – they've been overbilled. In Sacramento County, which mailed out its annual property tax bills Friday, the Assessor's Office received 2,000 calls Monday. Placer County officials report getting triple the number of assessment appeals this year compared to a year ago. In El Dorado County, four times as many people are appealing, and officials say the number is growing.

Local officials say there is a widespread misconception – that declining home values amid a soured economy and the subprime mortgage crisis will automatically result in property re-assessments and lower tax bills.

From the Stockton Record:

City Hall intends to flip houses, using $12.1 million from the federal government to buy and restore abandoned or foreclosed homes, then sell or rent them out...."This is kind of a windfall," Councilman Steve Bestolarides said. "This is going to give us an opportunity to really deliver something."
...
The program allows money to be used until 2013. Until then, money used to buy and renovate a house would be recovered when the house is sold, allowing the city to recycle that money into additional home purchases, officials said. "These funds give us a huge opportunity," said Fred Sheil of STAND - Stocktonians Taking Action to Neutralize Drugs - a nonprofit group that buys, renovates and sells homes to people with low incomes. "We have the potential for double or triple or quadruple this money."

From the Sacramento Bee:

State workers such as Tamara Martfeld are worried..."I'm not buying anything that I don't have to," said Martfeld, a 25-year state employee who lives and works in Sacramento. "Co-workers I've talked to say the same thing."
...
Economists who watch Sacramento say the region usually avoids the wild swings of places like the Silicon Valley, thanks to our vast, stable and secure state workforce. By their sheer numbers and buying power state workers are the grease that lubricates the local economy. They make house payments, buy food, go to the movies and pay taxes. And, says University of the Pacific economist Jeff Michael, most of the tax money paying their wages comes from outside the area. "But ... if they're feeling anxiety about their future income or retirement, they pull back on consumption," he says. That drags down everyone.

From the Stockton Record:

The housing meltdown has regional transportation officials considering scaling back on what projects can be completed with the half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 1990. Originally thought to generate $735 million over its 20-year life span, Measure K's half-cent sales tax could instead bring between $650 million and $670 million, said officials at the San Joaquin Council of Governments.
...
Original projections showed revenue from sales tax rising steadily from year to year throughout the 20-year span of Measure K, but it has peaked. "Now we're looking at falling off a cliff here," said Steve Dial, deputy executive director of the Council of Governments.

From the AP:

The federal government should move swiftly to enact a second economic stimulus package to help teetering homeowners or face another possible crisis — banks stuck with a massive stock of vacant homes, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger warned Wednesday. A day after urging congressional leaders to consider a new jolt for the ailing economy, the Republican governor said Washington needs to "put money into the housing market." California has been devastated by the mortgage crisis, with thousands of foreclosures and median home prices falling sharply. "The key is to make people stay in their homes," the governor said during a panel discussion with investor Warren Buffet.

From the BMIT blog:

This bubble threw a whole generation of young people for a loop. They did the work, they got the education, and then they were told because you took time for school now all you can afford is the desert or the barrio. Message was loud and clear, screw this young generation because we need our retirement.