Orlando Real Estate

Two weeks ago Bank of America, JP Morgan and GMAC put a hold on their foreclosures in 23 states where the courts have to grant approval, including Florida. Yesterday, Bank of America says they are re-filing 102,000 foreclosures in those states and continuing to move forward. They are still holding up on foreclosures in the other 27 states where the courts are not involved. I have written several times since this began about what impact I have seen in the Orlando market. While it has been noticeable, it has not appeared to create any major problems. Sales of REO's are off a bit, and the median sales price actually climbed several thousand dollars. A prolonged halt would eventually have more of drag on our local real estate sales, but now it looks like that may not take place.

Of course the Attorneys General across the country are launching a probe into this whole mess, so anything still could happen. The conventional wisdome seems to be that a moratorium on foreclosures is not the solution. I think something closer to a class action may occur where owners that have been foreclosed can opt in if they think their home was taken from them without proper documentation. Whatever happens, it is likely to create a much bigger mess for the banks down the road. Even if they got it right 99% of the time, they could be looking at tens of thousands of mistakes they may have to defend in court or settle. Those are issues for the banks down the road. For right now, hopefully this has been a wake up call for these mortgage companies to get their own houses in order. 

David Welch Real Estate Optimist, Orlando Real Estate, Any Home-Any Phone