California foreclosures continue to rise
California mortgage lenders mailed California homeowners the highest number of mortgage default notices in over a decade during the second quarter, the result of flat or falling prices, anemic sales and a market struggling with the excesses of the 2004-05 home buying frenzy, according to a real estate information service.
California mortgage lenders filed almost 54,000 notices of default during the April through June period. That was up 15 percent from 46,760 in the previous quarter and up 158 percent from 20,909 in the second quarter of 2006.
On first mortgages statewide, homeowners were a average of five months behind on their payments when the lender started the default process. The borrowers owed a average of $11,000 on a average $342,000 mortgage.
Real estate mortgages were least likely to go into default in Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties. The likelihood was highest in San Joaquin, Merced and Riverside counties.