Jan 30 2009
In Response to the FR article, “2008 Reports Just In”
Foreclosure Research received a comment on a recent article stating that Realty Trac had posted two separate numbers for 2008 foreclosure filings. One number was total filings (3.16 million) the other number, which was not mention in the article, was the number of properties that received a foreclosure filing (2.3 million).
The fact of the matter is why would RealtyTrac have even released a figure that contained duplicate figures? Readers should ask themselves, what is the point of knowing that one home received two foreclosure flings versus just one?
This information is obsolete and should not even be reported. The two numbers and more so, just the duplicate filings number was reported in several media outlets throughout the past month.
Let’s take a look at some of the articles utilizing both figures including the higher figure reported first:
Kansas City Business Journal dated January 15, 2009, “KC ranks No. 49 for 2008 foreclosures.”
Morganton News Herald dated January 15, 2009, “Foreclosures increasing in Burke County.”
Articles that do not mention the actual foreclosure filings number:
Investors.com dated January 15, 2009, “Economic Downturn Eases A Bit in Jan., But Direction Remains Sharply Negative,” does not mention the actual amount of 2.3.
SchaeffersReasearch.com dated January 15, 2009: “Midday Market Update,” also does not mention the amount of properties, only the duplicate filings number.
MarketWatch dated January 15, 2009: “U.S. Foreclosure filings in 2008 rose 81% from 2007.”
MarketWatch dated January 15, 2009: “Gold dips, ending lower for fourth day on dollar, oil.”
More articles reported the duplicate foreclosure filing number of 3.16 million, perhaps for a couple of reasons. One, it is not clearly stated in the preliminary report that these are duplicate filings, or multiple filings for a single property; or two, the larger, 3.16 million number creates a little more drama and buzz.
In addition, Foreclosure Research would like to stand corrected, in light of the duplicate filings figure, that ForeclosureS.com and ReatlyTrac.com reported a difference of a quarter of a million foreclosure filings for 2008. While the disparity is less, it is still vast to say the least.
