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.

Dallas foreclosed homes for sale still floods the Texas housing market. For this month, nearly 6,000 foreclosure houses are scheduled for auction, representing an increase of 34 percent compared with last year.

For the first 9 months of this year, the number of foreclosure properties hit 51,000. Industry experts said that in previous years, the wave of foreclosures were caused by homeowners who borrowed risky loans, requiring no or low down payment and adjusting to exorbitant rates later. Lenders are also to blame for encouraging borrowers even if they are not creditworthy.

Experts said that the first wave of foreclosures was confined only to a certain group of borrowers. However, they pointed out that the next wave of foreclosures reflects the worsening economic condition not just in Texas but across the country. Many of troubled homeowners have lost their jobs or reduce their income. The rising unemployment rate resulted to more Dallas foreclosed homes for sale as indicated by the rise in the number of foreclosed homes placed on auction this month.

However, only about 50 percent of distressed properties placed for sale monthly are actual foreclosures. In many cases, lenders and borrowers have reached an agreement that gave homeowners an opportunity to save their properties from foreclosure or the repossession action is delayed.

Statewide, the highest increase in foreclosure rate was posted in Collin County. According to data, foreclosure filings increased by 61 percent to 778 homes compared with the numbers scheduled for foreclosure auction in October the previous year.

In Denton County, foreclosure filings jumped by 42 percent to 710 compared with a year ago. Similarly, Tarrant County posted a 43 percent rise to 1,975 while Dallas County foreclosure filings increased by 20 percent to almost 2,477.

But industry experts noted that the actual number of foreclosure this year dropped by 17 percent compared with last year. They said that this could mean that some federal programs aimed at preventing the spread of foreclosures are starting to show results.

One of the most popular federal programs is the loan modification. The Obama Administration has been offering incentives to lenders to motivate them to work with homeowners to find ways to save their properties from foreclosures.

Industry experts said that the loan modification program, despite its slow start, is on its track to reduce the number of Dallas foreclosed homes for sale.

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.

An increasing number of volunteers find foreclosure homes to clean up thus preventing them from ruining the curb appeal of neighborhoods.

According to industry experts, in some areas where foreclosure rates are highest, such as Florida and Nevada, volunteering to clean up abandoned and vacant properties is becoming common in communities. These volunteers mend fences, cut grass, fix windows, clear away the rubbish and other works that would help prevent the unoccupied properties from becoming blights and attracting vandals and criminals.

According to officials of the National League of Cities, local residents are taking the matter of neglected foreclosure homes seriously because they are also affected by the presence of many dilapidated houses. Studies showed that home prices and values are dropping rapidly in neighborhoods with high foreclosure rates.

Some residents took the time out from their busy schedules to find foreclosure homes before they could fall into complete disrepair and attract criminals and vandals. Foreclosure homes that are not maintained can become eyesores or drive away potential buyers.

Furthermore, neglected foreclosure houses can pull the entire neighborhoods into disrepair, resulting in costly repairs. Some cities have implemented tough measures to prevent foreclosure homes from deteriorating.

In Cape Coral, Florida, code enforcement officers are also acting as property managers. The city started tracking foreclosure properties since June 2007. So far, about 5,234 lawns located on abandoned and vacant houses were mowed by city workers with the help of volunteers who do not want their areas to look unsightly.

Some cities that are initiating cleanup projects are charging property owners for the services done. However, many property owners could not be contacted resulting to cities shouldering the cost of property repair and maintenance.

According to industry experts, the major problem is the long gap between the time homeowners abandon their houses and the time banks take over the properties.

So far, about 350 cities across the country have passed ordinances that require banks and property owners to maintain foreclosure properties on their portfolio.

In Boston, Massachusetts, volunteers are also helping distressed homeowners avoid losing their homes to foreclosures. They conduct weekly door-to-door visit to inform homeowners and tenants at risk of foreclosures that many programs are available for free that can help them remain in their properties.

Industry experts said that initiatives to find foreclosure homes to clean up are an effective way to alleviate the impact of the foreclosure crisis.

Brooklyn foreclosed homes for sale under $300,000 are expected to swamp the New York housing market. Results of a recent market study showed that the foreclosure crisis has severely affected multi-family buildings located in low income neighborhoods in Brooklyn.

The study showed that 80 percent of repossessions filed in Brooklyn since last year was for mortgage loans below $1 million. Additionally, 51 percent of non-home mortgage loans were for residential buildings. The report also noted that majority of foreclosed units were located in low-income neighborhoods like East New York and Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Industry experts said that potential investors and homebuyers could expect a lot of bargain-priced brownstones in the coming months. Many of these three-unit or four-unit Brooklyn foreclosed homes for sale are priced below $300,000.

However, investors and homebuyers who are interested for good deals in prime communities and neighborhoods, like Park Slope or Carroll Gardens, may have to wait for a bit longer. A market report showed that 51 percent of mortgage loans (non-residential) that started foreclosure proceedings last year were for residential buildings. Meanwhile, 80 percent of mortgages were for properties below $1 million.

Industry experts said that low-priced neighborhoods are seeing a flood of foreclosures that sell way below the market price. For example, an eight-unit building located in Crown Heights could be had for as low as $400,000, which is half its original market price.

Furthermore, market data showed that 21 percent of walk-up apartments received foreclosure filings while 14 percent of filings were posted on mixed-use units and not more than 5 percent were filed on elevator apartment buildings, vacant land, retail and office buildings.

According to industry experts, more than 1,000 commercial properties are in some stage of foreclosure process in Brooklyn from September last year to September this year. For September 2009 alone, foreclosure proceedings on commercial properties totaled 70, a whopping increase from 25 foreclosures posted for the same month last year.

Experts said that based on lis pendens data, distressed sales may occur in Brooklyn in the next 20 months. They said that the flood of foreclosed small residential buildings in Brooklyn is a result of a great number of landlords buying into the housing market during the period of easy financing.

They said that because financing could be obtained easily, many of these small-time landlords bought any property they could lay their hands on.

The city of Nashville in Tennessee has received about $3.1 million stimulus funds in part to help individuals and families who need a place to live in after a foreclosed house sale. The program will provide short-term assistance to these new homeless to help them immediately recover from the misfortunes and get back on their feet.

The $20.3 stimulus program in Tennessee provides short-term assistance to people who are on the brink of homelessness and who are newly homeless get back on their feet immediately. One way is to put a roof over their heads.

Nashville’s share of the stimulus funds would be able to help as many as 200 individuals and 300 families. Statewide, about 5,200 people in 2,500 households will receive rental assistance, according to Tennessee Housing Development Agency program administrator Steve Meinbresse.

The program caters to people who would not qualify for the government housing programs, such as subsidized housing and tax credits, but are experiencing the crisis and need financial assistance for finding and paying a place to stay.

However, for those who want to avoid foreclosed house sale, the program excludes mortgage payments. However, it will pay for the utility deposits, rent, motel vouchers, utility payments and moving costs for not more than a year.

To become eligible for the program, individuals and families should prove that they will be able to get back on their feet in the near future and be able to pay their own utilities and rent once the federal funds run out.

Aside from losing their properties to foreclosures, eligible families also include common reasons, including lost of unemployment benefits, health reasons and job loss.

According to Meinbresse explained that the program is designed to help people who are in desperate need for existing housing and for those who have become homeless because of the sluggish economy.

Meanwhile, the program will also help homeowners with financial management, benefit applications and job coaching. Industry experts said that there is a tendency that thousands of people are going to take advantage of the short-term assistance program.

In Nashville, nine agencies have been chosen to help people who lost their properties on foreclosed house sale. These are Safe Haven, YWCA and Salvation Army.

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.

The Bank of America has been helping older people holding options adjustable rate mortgages (ARM) from losing their properties to San Diego foreclosed homes for sale.

The bank has adopted the reserve mortgage strategy. Industry experts explained that reverse mortgage is made available to older people in the form of equity loans. But senior homeowners do not need to pay the mortgage until after they die.

For example, a senior homeowner had a loan of $490,000 on a property that is appraised to be worth only $150,000 in the current market. About $405,000 of the amount was written down by Bank of America and it issued $85,000 as reverse mortgage. However, unlike a traditional reserve mortgage process, the bank’s strategy involves paying the proceeds directly to itself instead of to the homeowner. This means that the homeowner can stay in his house without making mortgage payments to the bank.

In the event that the homeowner dies, the property will be returned to the Bank of America. The heirs of the homeowner will be given the priority to purchase back the house for $85,000, excluding interest and fees. Or if the heirs opted not to buy back the house, the bank will then sell it and give any proceeds that exceed the loan amount to the homeowner’s family.

According to industry experts, banks are being pressured by the federal government to work with troubled homeowners to save their properties from San Diego foreclosed homes for sale. On the case of Bank of America, it has issued about 20 reverse mortgage loans with write-down feature to homeowners who are in direct circumstances.

Officials said that the bank is losing money in the process but explained it would lose more if they foreclose on a property and sell it in the current market. Home prices have been dropping drastically because of the foreclosure crisis. In fact, many homeowners whose properties are worth less than their mortgages are forced to reduce prices on their properties just to compete with cheap foreclosure homes.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department said that it was able to meet its goal of starting trial loan modifications for about half a million borrowers by November 1. The program is part of the $75 billion initiative to control the spread of foreclosures across the country.

Home prices in Texas continued to drop, albeit at a slow pace, partly due to the flood of Fort Worth foreclosed homes for sale that glut the market. Recent market data showed that pre-owned home prices dropped by 1.2 percent two months ago, compared with the same month in 2008.

According to industry experts, the August home price decline was the smallest annual drop. Month-to-month figures showed a rise in home prices for six consecutive months. August home prices in both Dallas and Fort Worth were the highest since September of last year.

The statistical trend prompted industry economists to hope that the market is now heading towards the right direction. However, they are not confident to say that the market has bottomed out. They said that current developments are not enough to conclude that the housing market is on the way to real recovery.

Economists said that the housing market could only take a breather from the flood of Fort Worth foreclosed homes for sale if the increasing unemployment rate could be reigned in and the economy would start to show stability.

Meanwhile, property prices in August across the country dropped by 11.3 percent compared with a year ago. However, market data showed a rise from July home prices which gave more hope to industry economists that property values across the United States are starting to bottom out. August improvement in home values was the seventh straight month of positive trend in the housing market for this year.

Industry economists pointed out a relative improvement in the rate of home price decline. They said that the biggest drop in annual home prices in August occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada which saw a decline of 29.9 percent and Phoenix, Arizona which dropped to 1.9 percent compared with August 2008.

Meanwhile, analysts pointed out bad loan decisions, recession and speculations as some of the major influences on the continuous drop in home prices. They said that the current trend has created an opportunity to home buyers, especially first-time buyers who availed of the federal tax credit program.

They added that the housing market, from here on, bears watching because of the discounted prices and the growing competition for cheap foreclosure houses.