Today, July 17, 2009, marks one year since the genesis of Foreclosure Research. Our goal has been to provide informative reporting and serve as a checks and balances to the foreclosure reporting industry. Our one year anniversary further exemplifies our commitment to uncovering the truth behind foreclosure data.

Here are a few of the year’s highlights:

July 2008

• ForeclosureS.com reports a 5% increase in foreclosures while RealtyTrac reports a 3% decrease, an 8% disparity.

August 2008

• New Jersey court systems reports double the foreclosures as RealtyTrac for the same period.
• ForeclosureS.com falsely states they list over 5 million properties.

September 2008

• ForeclosureS.com and RealtyTrac report a 20% difference in August foreclosures figures.
• RealtyTrac underreports West Virginia foreclosure rates by 227%.

October 2008

• RealtyTrac states lack of coverage in rural areas with populations of 25,000 or less.

November 2008

• RealtyTrac reports 5% increase while ForeclosureS.com reports 7% decrease for the month of October.

December 2008

• Foreclosure listing company head honchos predict the 2009 housing market. Alexis McGee with ForeclosureS.com predicts a significant improvement in foreclosure rates for 2009 while Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac predicts record high foreclosure rates.

January 2009

• A reporter with the Bolivar Herald-Free Press incorrectly reports foreclosure statistic. The reporter stated 1 in 54 homeowners were foreclosed on; when in fact 1 in 54 homes received a default notice. Foreclosure Research has shown this to be a rather common reporter error.

February 2009

• ForeclosureWorld expose. Customer complaints flood Ripoff Report. Misleading foreclosure information, false pictures and various seedy practices uncovered throughout the extensive ForeclosureResearch investigation.

March 2009

• Summit County examines two foreclosure listing figures; one from RealtyTrac, another from ForeclosureFreeSearch.com. Based on official records from Summit County Recorder’s Office, figures from ForeclosureFreeSearch.com were a more accurate representation of the county rates.

April 2009

• Colorado establishes new housing bill (HB 1196) making it illegal to unitize commercial foreclosure statistics for use in public policy legislation.

June 2009

• More examples of default notices being confused for bank repossessions in the media.
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution publishes article proving RealtyTrac under reported Atlanta foreclosures rates by 100%.
• RealtyTrac representative states their reports should not be used to influence public policy while the company’s press releases tout public policy involvement.

July 2009

• ForeclosureResearch reports on a study which found 25% of foreclosures result in homeowners strategically defaulting on their mortgages despite the ability to pay.