With 2009 now upon us, let us review the past year and see how the real estate market and the media reporting it have evolved from day one.

July 2008: the birth of Foreclosure Research
Key Points:
-Lack of articles publishing current decreases in foreclosures but rather focusing on increases from prior years.
-RealtyTrac reports 3% decrease in foreclosures from May to June, ForeclosureS.com reports 5.35% increase from May to June.
- No “current foreclosure” statistics available on RealtyTrac or ForeclosureS.com, making it nearly impossible to confirm their reported statistics.

August 2008
Key Points:
-Article reports conflicting numbers for New Jersey. One figure from Realty Trac, the other from a state housing authority, reflected a difference of 100%.
-Foreclosure Research reports that ForeclosureS.com offers different numbers for their press releases than what is available on the site through the search feature.
-Understanding reporter bias. Utilizing the exact same figures a reporter can use either of the following statements: 1 out of every 171 households received a foreclosure filing, 1 in 618 households were foreclosed, or 0.16% of all total households were foreclosed.
-ForeclosureS.com reports 5 million listings. Foreclosure Research investigates that 3.3 million of the 5 million listings are unaccounted for on the site.

September 2008
Key Points:
- Conflicting numbers reported for San Diego from various articles and foreclosure listing companies. One reported 2,004 foreclosures in July, another reported 2,174 and yet another reported 12,000.
- RealtyTrac reports 90,893 REOs for August while ForeclosureS.com reports 102,000 REOs for the same period.
-Rick Sharga admits to a lack of data in rural areas. This particular case set in West Virginia where faulty reporting created a roadblock for necessary housing legislation.

October 2008
Key Points:
-Further investigation into RealtyTrac’s claim that they do not focus on areas with less than 25,000 in population. Not surprisingly, the states with the lowest foreclosure rates also have the highest number of rural areas.
-REOShpere, a company that tracks foreclosure in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, was found to utilize all RealtyTrac figures in their press releases.
-ForeclosureRadar reports 61.8% decrease in foreclosures for September, while Foreclosures.com reports a 38% decrease.
-RealtyTrac reports 81,312 homes lost to foreclosure, while foreclosures.com reports 107,500 homes lost to foreclosure.
-More massive discrepancies. RealtyTrac reports 47,956 foreclosure filings for Florida in September, while Foreclosures.com reports 406,895 filings.

November 2008
Key Points:
- Disregard for asterisks in foreclosure news articles. RealtyTrac reports a figure for Washington DC with an asterisk, citing “increases may not be as high due to data collection changes,” while media reports still utilize the figure omitting the fact that the data may not be correct.
-One foreclosure listing company reports an increase of foreclosures by 5 percent from September to October. Another foreclosure listing company reports that foreclosures decreased 7 percent, reflecting a total different of 12 percent.
-ForeclosureRadar reports a drop in California foreclosures by 39 percent in October, while RealtyTrac reports a decrease of 18 percent.

December 2008
Key Points:
-Understanding the different terminology offered in foreclosure articles: REOs, foreclosure filings, actual foreclosures, rate of default and default rate. These terms are not interchangeable and at times are confused in articles, which lead to a misrepresentation of data.
-Market experts predict 2009 foreclosures. Alexis McGee, president of foreclosureS.com, concludes that 2009 should see a decline in foreclosures and a rebound in the real estate market. Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac predicts more foreclosures in 2009 than 2008.
-Article states Idaho has drastic foreclosure problem when in fact the state saw only 61 foreclosures for the period in question. The rate can seem high due to the low level of population and a misrepresentation in data.

A reader can surmise from the year in review that foreclosure reporting agencies and the articles representing them can be inconclusive to say the least. Now let’s hope that 2009 brings in fewer foreclosures, accurate statistics and efficient reporting. Happy New Year!