Foreclosures Continue to Rise in California and Arizona, According to Default Research ‘Wild West, at least in terms of foreclosures, lives again,’ says CEO
RISMEDIA, July 13, 2006—The Gold Rush of 1849 is long gone. According to Default Research (www.defaultresearch.com) though, the rapidly growing real estate research company for foreclosure properties, there is a lot more wealth to be gained out west 157 years later.
“Investors looking to profit and help homeowners in financial distress can ride into California and parts of Arizona and capitalize on the spiking foreclosure market,” said Serdar Bankaci, president and chief executive officer of Default Research, Inc. “The Wild West, at least in terms of foreclosures, lives again.”
The number of foreclosures continued to soar through California, and in Arizona, Pima and Maricopa counties have seen an increase of 40 and 30 percent respectively since January 2006.
“Many people are focused on southern California as the ‘hot spot’ of foreclosure activity due to the sheer numbers of foreclosures, but northern California has seen increases, percentage wise nearly as high as southern California,” said Bankaci. “In fact, there has been an average increase in foreclosure of 50 percent since the beginning of the year.”
In southern California, San Bernardino has seen the highest increase--approximately five percent--while Los Angeles County has remained relatively stable since May 2006. Bankaci pointed out that the high foreclosure rate in California is mainly due to the adjustable rate mortgages. That is, any rise in interest rates brings higher mortgage payments, ranging from $200 to nearly $1,000 a month.
“These slight changes in mortgage rates may seem small, but the impact can be huge on a family on a fixed income,” said Bankaci. “That slight increase could bring the large and unfortunate problem of foreclosure. “
It does not however, Bankaci added, have to bring families to a total financial breaking point. In fact, it opens up an opportunity for an investor to purchase a property for cheaper than market value and help a family out of a “sticky” financial situation.
“One ‘hot’ place in Arizona for investors to come in and help the foreclosure problems is Maricopa County, more specifically Phoenix,” Bankaci said. “We saw the foreclosure activity remain stable for the first quarter of the year and now it is beginning to rise – plus, in my opinion, it is a great place to live.”
Bankaci not only gives his personal recommendations on where to capitalize, his company also provides the freshest leads in the business to help investors to assist families in trouble.
“With our data arriving two to three weeks ahead of the competition, and our macro data also weeks ahead of our competitors, Default Research provides the leads and data research to position our clients to succeed in the largest markets in the U.S.,” said Bankaci.
Default Research is a national leader in real estate research. More information about Default Research can be found at their Web site: www.defaultresearch.com. |
