Foreclosures Rise 19% Statewide

The number of real estate foreclosures in California is up by more than 19% in the first eight months of 1994 compared to the same period last year, according to TRW REDI Property Data.

In a survey of a selected number of counties in the state, TRW Redi found that lenders foreclosed on more than 42,000 residential and commercial properties between January and August of this year with a combined mortgage value of $8.6 billion.

Although the number of distressed property owners is still increasing in many parts of the state, the rate of increase has slowed significantly from the prior years, TRW REDI reported. Between 1992 and 1993, foreclosures jumped by more than 70%.

The Southland continues to fare worse than the other regions. In the five-county Southern California region, the number of repossessed properties was up by 21% compared to 6.5% in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley region.

These most recent figures indicate that so far this year, the Northridge earthquake apparently has not had an impact on foreclosure activity in Los Angeles County. In the city of Northridge, TRW Redi recorded a total of 432 foreclosures in the January-August, 1994, period--a jump of 35% from the same period last year but substantially below the 123% increase between 1992 and 1993.

Southland Foreclosures

Jan.-Aug., ’93 Jan.-Aug., ’94 Change No. $M No. $M Los Angeles 15,189 4,160.6 18,485 4,278.2 Orange 3,456 922.2 4,067 992.7 San Diego 3,172 867.1 3,608 789.5 Riverside 4,660 896.5 5,833 863.8 San Bernardino 4,775 692.4 5,895 831.9 Southern California 31,252 7,538.8 37,888 7,756.1

No. $M Los Angeles 21.7% 2.8% Orange 17.7% 7.6% San Diego 13.7% -8.9% Riverside 25.2% -3.6% San Bernardino 23.5% 20.1% Southern California 21.2% 2.9%