Thursday, April 20, 2006

Marin Foreclosures

Just for fun I went here and checked to see how many houses in Marin are currently in some stage of foreclosure. I didn't register for the free account (to get more detailed info) because they ask for too much personal information. But this is what I found; I am sure it's not complete or exhaustive:

  • 55 in Novato (31 in pre-forclosure, 11 in auction, 8 bank owned, 2 FSBO, 3 new)
  • 28 in San Rafael (18 pre-forclosure, 8 auction, 2 bank owned)
  • 15 in Sausalito (7 pre-forclusure, 3 auction, 5 bank owned)
  • 12 in Mill Valley (10 pre-forclosure, 2 resale)
  • 10 in San Anselmo (6 pre-forclosure, 3 auction, 1 bank owned)
  • 4 in Bolinas (3 pre-forclosure, 1 bank owned)
  • 4 in Corte Madera (2 pre-forclosure, 1 auction, 1 bank owned)
  • 2 in Fairfax (2 pre-forclosure)
  • 1 in Greenbrae (1 pre-forclosure)
  • 1 in Larkspur (1 pre-forclosure)
And because some people like to compare Marin County to Santa Barbara or Carmel-by-the-Sea:
  • 70 in Santa Barbara (33 pre-foreclosure, 6 auction, 5 bank owned, 4 FSBO, 22 new)
  • 9 in Carmel-by-the-Sea (5 pre-foreclosure, 3 auction, 1 bank owned)

23 comments:

marine_explorer said...

Are these numbers in the range of normal?

Currently, I'm seeing 333 pre- and foreclosures for Marin, 910 for Sonoma. From looking at stats last summer, it appears to be roughtly twice those figures. I don't have the old figures on hand, but does that sound right?

Marinite said...

Where did you go to find that 333 figure? RealtyTrac is what I used and it shows far fewer.

marine_explorer said...

Here's a site to quickly scan the situation in CA:

Marinite said...

Cool. According to that site there are 152 listings (foreclosures, preforeclosures, tax liens, and backruptcies) just in the 94941 zip alone!

Athena said...

foreclosure.com gives pretty good information- better than realtytrack I have found...

I've considered breaking down and registering for a real membership to be able to compare real estate listings with foreclosure listings... seems to me it may be a noteworthy subject to keep up on for readers.

Many buyers never really know the reason someone is selling- and a pattern of troubled sellers would definitely shed light on a dark corner of the real estate market that goes unnoticed currently.

Anonymous said...

Here's a site to quickly scan the situation in CA:

Interesting....although I think ACTUAL Foreclosures is the most significant statistic.

In terms of actual foreclosures (from Foreclosure.com)Marin doesn't look in bad shape at all, with a grand total of 3 foreclosures. Especially when compared, for example, to 238 for San Diego County or 109 for Sacramento County.

moonvalley said...

Meanwhile, I'm walking past the Swiss Hotel off the Plaza this afternoon and there in big headline print the IT states..median home price in Marin now..900 something k!

Anonymous said...

San Diego county's population is about 12x that of marin. Sac county's is about 5x marin's. duh

Athena said...

MV did the IT have anything to say about our own prices? or perhaps our inventory? oh wait... let me guess... it was all hearts, flowers and pixie dust?

I think that real foreclosure numbers aren't going to shed enough light on a market... I actually think the pre-foreclosures are more telling, because most people will list it for sale, and get out from under it, and the lender will try to work with them to do that. That is what happened last time in the 90's foreclosure was staved off for all but the most stubborn by going to a real estate agent saying they "Specialize" in foreclosure sales...

Marinite said...

athena -

I think that is basically correct. I think it is useful to think of these foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, tax liens, bankruptcy listings as indicative of financial stress. Oops! Did I just say that? Silly me, every one here in Marin is rich and financially savvy so that can't be right.

Anonymous said...

San Diego county's population is about 12x that of marin. Sac county's is about 5x marin's. duh

Right, but the foreclosure rate is 80x and 30x, respectively. Duh!!

Marinite said...

That's it, I'm turning off anonymous commenting. Time for some accountability. Not much, but some.

Athena said...

LOL... yes, you are all rich and financially responsible... as are we. I am sure that when the preforeclosure/ and sales listings gets exposed people will simply shake their head and assume those must be amateur flippers too big for their britches. Simply people who never belonged in the market in the first place... and of course they must not really be from here. ;-)

Marinite said...

Wrong. Marin doesn't have any flippers if the permabulls are to be believed. Don't you read this blog?

Athena said...

Of course I knew that... I was referring to what the people will be saying about those in Sonoma County that make it to the foreclosure list... of course Marin doesn't have any flippers. Those notices and houses on the foreclosure block are merely victims of administrative incompetence, or the check was lost in the mail. ;-)

marine_explorer said...

In terms of actual foreclosures (from Foreclosure.com)Marin doesn't look in bad shape at all, with a grand total of 3 foreclosures.

Perhaps not, but what got my attention was the change in pre- and foreclosure numbers since early '06.

fortunateone said...

That's it, I'm turning off anonymous commenting.

Ahhh I can breath!
I've just crawled out of the hole of anonymity!

Marinite said...

I've just crawled out of the hole of anonymity!

You could have done that at any time.

sf jack said...

fortunate one -

Welcome and congratulations!

Well done.

moonvalley said...

Athena,
something I've been thinking about. I went to a garage sale a few weeks ago on a street where I remembered (later) I'd seen a foreclosure listing. I wonder how many pre-fore yard sales we'll see?

marine_explorer said...

That could be a cheap way to scoop up a 40" plasma TV.

Athena said...

oooh! That's a great idea MV... I will see about perusing the foreclosure lists and comparing them against the for sale listings and you get the scoop on the garage sales! maybe we can do a double service for the FBs in Sonoma. ;-)

goodrich4bk said...

As a bankruptcy attorney since 1982, I have seen two serious real estate declines and a couple of minor corrections. During that time, I represented several foreclosure buyers who were very experienced in buying at or close to the bottom of the market. Based upon their collective wisdom, we are nowhere near the final innings of this current decline. Indeed, the Marin market, which lags corrections and leads recoveries, is suggesting that we just finished singing the National Anthem. So to those who are waiting to buy at a trustee's sale, I suggest keeping your powder dry.