Home sales in Santa Clara County, California rose by 17 percent last month and San Jose foreclosed homes for sale are credited for this positive trend. According to industry experts, the 17 percent increase in home sales activity in September compared to the same month a year ago, is attributed to first time buyers who take advantage of the $8,000 federal tax credit and cheap foreclosure homes.

The rise in home sales in the area is reflected in some places across the country. The recent activity in the housing market is helped by first time homebuyers and cash-rich investors who find bargain-priced foreclosure homes good investments.

Meanwhile, the median home price dropped by almost 2 percent in September compared with figures in August. Industry analysts said that the decline could mean that the housing market is nearing the bottom.

Santa Clara posted home sales of 1,307 last month, an increase from the same month last year’s 1,116.

Similarly, year-to-year data showed that the median home price declined by 8 percent to $506,000 from $550,000. But industry experts pointed out that the 2 percent decline in the August-September $515,000 median price was less serious compared with the 5 percent drop in the July-August period.

With market indicators fluctuating, the number of San Jose foreclosed homes for sale remained at a record high. Also, the number of non-owner occupied purchasing is above average. Industry experts said that the erratic numbers are indications of market trends.

On the other hand, foreclosure properties accounted for 27.2 percent of the total September sales of all residential homes and condominiums. The figures represented an increase from the 26.4 percent foreclosure sales in August.

Industry experts said that the numbers are still historically high. They pointed out that in September 2007, foreclosure properties accounted for 3.9 percent of the total home sales. Experts said that the foreclosure numbers remain at a record high because many homeowners are finding it difficult to modify their loans.

Also, a growing number of homeowners owe more on their mortgages than the value of their properties and majority of them just turned their backs and allow banks to foreclosed on their houses.

Yet, the abundance of low-priced foreclosure houses are attracting hordes of bargain-hunting homebuyers, resulting to home sales increases.

Tips on how to find foreclosure homes easily and quickly can be found anywhere. But industry experts believe that no matter who gave the advice or where the advice came from, the bottom line is the foreclosure investing market is not for the faint of heart. As such, all industry gurus agree in recommending to prospective buyers to study the market first before plunging into it.

The current number of cheap foreclosure homes is staggering. And with the unabated rise in unemployment and the scheduled resetting of adjustable rate loans, there seems to be no end in sight for the foreclosure crisis.

The foreclosure crisis may have brought devastation to many homeowners’ lives but it also provided opportunity to others to purchase houses which they could not have done in the previous years. The low foreclosure home prices allowed many people to fulfill their dreams of becoming homeowners.

But how to find foreclosures homes is not a walk in the park. There are pitfalls that buyers who did not take time to study the market would easily fall into. Experts said that buyers should always keep in mind that they could not always find foreclosure houses in good conditions that are located in prime areas and at 50 percent discount. The possible price range would be less than 20 percent from the prevailing market price.

Experts said that underpriced foreclosure houses do not stay long in the market. But buyers could also find better deals on overpriced foreclosure properties. They said that many overpriced properties do not get that much interest and may be on the market for a longer period. Therefore, if potential buyers make an offer for overpriced properties that have been languishing on the market for more than a year already, banks would act on the offers immediately.

Meanwhile, experts suggest that potential buyers find foreclosure houses in good neighborhoods to ensure quick home value recovery. One indicator that home values will not drop drastically in a certain area is the presence of a school district.

Another advice given by experts on how to find foreclosure homes that would bring in huge profits is to search the Internet. Online foreclosure listings are updated frequently to carry the latest foreclosures on the market.

Tenants of Boston foreclosed homes for sale have found a lifeline among housing advocates who held a rally to demand protection for them. Housing advocates have demanded protection for tenants in apartment buildings that are U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) subsidized.

The rally, which was held in Cleary Square in Boston, Massachusetts, was aimed to show support for treaties and proposed legislation that would provide help to low income families to stay in their apartments at affordable market rates. The rally was planned and initiated by the Massachusetts Alliance of HUD Tenants, a coalition of tenants in HUD-subsidized apartments.

According to industry experts, about 1,750 HUD-subsidized apartments were converted by their owners to market rates. An additional 8,000 apartments are at risk, including 250 elderly houses at Blake Estates and 967 apartments at Georgetowne.

The housing advocates are committed to changing federal, state and local law that would give non-profit organizations and local governments the right to first refusal to purchase HUD-subsidized apartments that are being occupied by renters at market rates.

The group also calls for the reinstitution of several tenant protections that have been lost in the past 20 years. Furthermore, they also called on the federal government to sign the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, giving all people housing rights.

Tenants are just some of the unsuspecting victims of the growing Boston foreclosed homes for sale. Many of them do not even know that the apartments they have been renting are into foreclosures because landlords either neglected to inform them or just do not care anymore. This resulted to many tenants finding themselves being evicted through no fault of their own.

An increasing number of apartments in the city have been foreclosed or are going into foreclosure. According to industry experts, during the peak of the housing market, many landlords bought properties at high prices thinking that the increasing rental rates would allow them to recover their investments immediately.

When the housing market collapsed, they found themselves having apartment buildings with many vacant units. With home prices at below market value, people who have the financial means prefer to buy cheap foreclosure properties rather than rent.

Representative Jose Serrano and Senator Charles Schumer have called on government-sponsored enterprise, Federal National Mortgage Association or Fannie Mae to shoulder the cost of maintaining Bronx foreclosed homes for sale.

Both lawmakers claim that Fannie Mae has abandoned its responsibility of maintaining 14 dilapidated, foreclosed apartment units in Bronx. Fannie Mae backed out of its initial plan to sell the mortgages of the apartment buildings through an online auction.

Instead, the federal agency wants to dispose of the foreclosure properties by way of a competitive auction. However, both Serrano and Schumer said that staging the bidding process could take a year or more and would transfer the responsibility to maintain the Bronx foreclosed homes for sale to the city government and affordable housing organizations.

Both politicians agree neither affordable housing organizations nor the city of Bronx should be held responsible for the deterioration of the apartment buildings. The lawmakers wrote a letter to Fannie Mae executive vice president Kenneth Bacon to urge him to cancel the competitive bidding and instead opt for a speedy foreclosure proceeding.

They then suggested the transfer of the foreclosed apartment units to developers with experience on affordable housing. Additionally, they suggested that Fannie Mae create a fund for the improvement and maintenance of building conditions until such time that a foreclosure sale has been completed.

Industry experts said that selling the debt is tantamount to selling the problem, adding that the process would just create a period of uncertainty with no or little resources coming into the buildings.

Meanwhile, affordable housing developer, Fordham Bedford Housing Corp. has withdrawn its interest on the Bronx foreclosed apartments saying that the project is no longer suited for the company.

The problem facing the Bronx properties started when Ocelot Capital, a real estate investment company, purchased the portfolio for about $36 million during the peak of the real estate market in 2007.

Fannie Mae acquired the loan from Deutsche Bank for $29 million only to discover later that it failed to meet the agency’s underwriting standards. Ocelot abandoned the apartments and the loans went into foreclosures last March.

Affordable housing officials and advocates are hoping that a resolution on the issue could be used as an example for similar properties. Over 3,000 apartments are already Bronx foreclosed homes for sale with an estimated 70,000 more facing the threat of foreclosure.

There are many ways to buy foreclosure homes for sale, but one of the best ways for new homebuyers is to buy through a bank. Banks sell foreclosures, which are known as REO (Real Estate Owned) properties. These homes have been repossessed because previous homeowner have not paid their mortgage. Banks are very eager to sell these properties and therefore often price them below market value. Bank foreclosures are good foreclosure homes for sale for first-time buyers because they have fewer risks than most foreclosures – the bank takes care of evicting tenants and any clouds on title in most cases.

Bank foreclosures are also easy to buy. Many banks hire third-party real estate agents to take care of foreclosure sales. This means that buying a bank foreclosure in many cases is just like buying a traditional home – just with nicer prices. If a bank does not use a real estate agent, you may need to negotiate directly with the bank. In these cases, the bank usually has a specialized department for handling foreclosure sales.

If you want to buy REO foreclosure homes for sale, start by contacting banks to get their foreclosures listing or consult a good foreclosure list to get the foreclosures listings for several banks. Find out when the bank will need to submit information to shareholders – banks will be most willing to lower their prices in the weeks leading up to this date. Finally, once you find foreclosure homes for sale that interest you, contact the bank or real estate agent for a tour and for more information.

Tampa foreclosed homes for sale will continue to push prices down in the Tampa Bay area, based on statements from economists who participated in a conference held by the National Association of Home Builders last week.

The economists said that high unemployment levels and increasing mortgage rates, in addition to high number of foreclosure homes, will continue to depress home prices in the coming months and in 2010.

They also said that homes in the area are still overvalued, so prices are expected to fall further and will not bottom out until the early or middle months of next year.

As of the end of August, home prices in the Tampa Bay Area have dropped by 40 percent since their highest level in the middle of 2006.

According to Moody’s economist Mark Zandi, the median home price in Tampa Bay, which has hovered around $140,000 over the past 12 months, could decrease by 10 percent more.

Zandi said that Tampa Bay homes are overvalued, when compared to rental rates and local income. To compare valuation, he said that homes in the Boston and Washington, D.C. corridor are significantly overvalued while homes in the Orlando and Sarasota area are undervalued. He explained that Orlando and Sarasota have higher income levels than the Tampa Bay area.

The economists cited many factors for the continued home price depression, including the still large number of Tampa foreclosed homes for sale and job losses. They said they expect more foreclosures next year because of continued defaults. More than one third of homeowners who have recently modified their loans are expected to redefault.

Eric Isenbergh of Davison Homes said he has stopped building homes in 2007 and will not restart building until the current unemployment rate of 11.7 percent goes down. He said that without recovery in jobs, there is no recovery in the housing market.

Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner added that even if the national economy recovers, home sales will not grow substantially because many are still jobless. He said that businesses will not hire as they start to recover.

According to Vitner, home prices will continue to fall further by 4.5 percent, but explained that there will be variations in price depressions in neighborhoods. He explained that overall home prices in Tampa have fallen by 40 percent, but prices have dropped by 20 percent in some neighborhoods and by 60 percent in other neighborhoods.

The total home sales for September in an Illinois city rose significantly. Thanks to Chicago foreclosure homes sale which helped push up the sales number, making it three consecutive months of increase.

The September home sales gain was the biggest in three consecutive months. According to industry experts, sales posted in the city were the first year-over-year gain for 3 and a-half years. Meanwhile, sales across the Chicago area also rose for three consecutive months compared with the same period in 2008.

Statewide, year-over-year home sales rose for the first time since March 2006, according to market data. Meanwhile, home prices continued to drop in the area compared with the previous year.

Industry experts said that because of the significant rise in home sales, particularly with Chicago foreclosed homes for sale, there is a lobbying effort to extend the federal tax credit of $8,000 made available to first-time homebuyers. The tax credit is scheduled to expire by the end of November.

Experts said that much of the credit in the increase in home sales in Illinois and other parts of the country is given to first time homebuyers who flocked to foreclosure sales hoping to get good deals and to investors who are laden with cash and want to take advantage of the current low priced houses.

Industry analysts pointed out that based on current trends, the tax credit has greatly helped in pushing up the home sales numbers. They believed that extending the program until 2010 would help significantly in stabilizing home prices and creating job opportunities that rely on the housing market.

In the Chicago region, a total of 6,862 condominiums and single-family houses were sold in nine counties last month, representing an increase of 5.9 percent compared with 6,477 total sales for the same month last year.

The monthly percentage gain year-over-year was the highest of the three monthly consecutive sales increases since May 2006.

Meanwhile, year-over-year median prices dropped in the city and the Chicago area. Median price means half of the houses sold for less and the other half sold for more. The median price in the region was $199,000 last month, a 10 percent drop compared with the same month last year.

The drop in prices showed the continued influence of Chicago foreclosures for sale which pulled down home prices below their market value.

Illinois foreclosure homes for sale have been rising faster in number in suburban counties than in metro areas, based on an analysis of foreclosure data in September and in the whole third quarter of this year.

While foreclosure postings increased in Cook County in the July to September quarter by only 6 percent over last year, the year-over-year rates of increases in Kendall County, Kane County and in DeKalb County were 693 percent, 103 percent and 169 percent, respectively.

Bob Palmer, executive director of Housing Action Illinois, said many residents in the suburban counties took out subprime loans and other types of risky mortgages that they can no longer pay during the downturn.

In September, more than 7,100 homeowners in Illinois received notices of delinquencies, an increase from 6,892 households in the previous month and 6,770 homeowners in June.

A total of 12,771 homeowners statewide received foreclosure postings, including initial default notices, notices that the properties are going to be sold by the sheriff’s office and notices that the properties have been repossessed by lenders.

Although the number of Illinois foreclosure homes for sale dropped in September compared to August, the number is still much higher than the number posted in September 2008. Total foreclosure postings in Illinois fell by 2.35 percent from the previous month, but remained higher by 25 percent over postings in September last year.

Suburban residents have been trying to obtain help from the Obama administration program, and although some have had their mortgages modified, it is not yet known if these homeowners are able to sustain the modified payments.

Last week, the administration announced that it had achieved its goal of modifying 500,000 mortgage loans and had put them into three-month trials. Many analysts however expect a big portion of these homeowners with modified loans to redefault because of job loss or reduced income.

Based on a report from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, the unemployment rate throughout Illinois has jumped up to the 10.5 percent level in September, a sharp increase from the 6.7 percent level in September last year.

According to Jay Brinkmann, head economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, foreclosures will still increase and will peak in the last months of 2010 because of the continued rise in job losses and other economic difficulties.

Cheap home foreclosures for sale are driving sales of single-family homes in the Massachusetts counties of Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden in the third quarter. Majority of sales were made by first-time buyers who were encouraged to make real estate purchase by the federal government’s $8,000 tax credit. A great number of first-time buyers come swopping in the region to grab foreclosure properties that are below the market value.

Home sales from July to September increased by 10.1 percent to 1,347 compared with 1,223 for the same period last year. But the median sale price dropped by 6 percent to $192,800 from $205,000 in the third quarter of 2008.

According to industry experts, many buyers are looking for older three-bedroom houses with one to two bathrooms, in good condition and located on quarter acres lot. These houses are in the price range of not more than $200,000. They said that many houses in the higher-end price spectrum are languishing on the market because buyers prefer to buy home foreclosures for sale that in the low-priced end.

Experts said that buyers may be hesitant to venture into higher-priced houses because of economic uncertainties, low consumer confidence and high unemployment rate. Additionally, the high cost of energy is also driving buyers to look for smaller, energy-efficient houses that are closer to places where they are working.

Furthermore, the increasing interest in modestly priced houses is driven by the 5 percent interest rate and the federal tax credit of $8,000 provided to first-time home buyers. And the looming expiration of the federal tax credit by November 30 has first-time buyers scampering to close deals before the deadline. But there are lobbying efforts to extend the tax credit and expand its coverage.

In Hampden County, home sales increased by 9.4 percent to 859 in July to September from 785 in the same quarter the previous year. Meanwhile, the median home price dropped by 3.8 percent to $177,900 from $185,000.

In Hampshire County, home sales rose by 8 percent to 310 from 287. In Franklin County, home sales rose by 17.9 percent to 178 from 151. Industry experts believed that cheap home foreclosures for sale will continue to drive up home sales and pull down market prices and values in the coming months.

Going around Marion County, Florida, one could see a great number of house for sale signs as the values of properties in the area continue to drop last month. But the good news is, the low home prices and values are attracting bargain-hunting buyers to the area, especially first-time homebuyers who want to avail of the federal tax credit of $8,000 and investors laden with cash.

Last month, the average value of a property in Marion County declined to $128,304 from $138,086 the previous month. Additionally, the median home value in the county dropped by 27 percent to $98,677 compared with the same month the previous year.

The situation in the county’s housing market, with increasing number of foreclosure properties goaded by declining home values, is not without a good side. Because of the below market prices for foreclosure homes, many potential buyers are grabbing properties off the market, thus fueling steady and increasing home sales across the county.

Since June, the average number of house for sale each month was 310, representing a 34 percent increase compared with the same period a year ago. Industry experts said that people who have the financial capability to make a purchase should make a move now because the market is ripe for the picking. They warned that the market is not going to stay favorable for buyers forever. They noted that is some housing markets, multiple offers were made on properties.

Experts said that the major factor that has been pulling home prices and values is the high number of foreclosure properties. Many buyers are looking on the foreclosure market first believing that this is where they could get good deals.

Meanwhile, market data showed a slight decline in the number of foreclosures. In August 731 properties were placed on foreclosure listings in the county, compared with 886 foreclosures power in August. The highest foreclosure rate for this year occurred in April with 1,019.

Currently, a total of 4,758 properties in Marion County are in some kind of foreclosure proceedings. Badly hit by the problem is the Ocala where one out of 176 houses is in foreclosure. The average market sales price of a foreclosed house for sale is $98,168.