Social networking site, Twitter has been receiving quite a bit of media coverage over the last couple of months. Most notably with the Iranian presidential conflict where Twitter was the only means to deliver the latest news in the area. Now it seems Twitter is here to stay, with ubiquitous ‘tweets’ filtering into our daily lives.
This being said, Foreclosure Research has decided to jump on board. Recently we added the twitter icon and link to the navigation bar on the Web site. You don’t have to be …

According to the most recent foreclosure news articles foreclosure have once again reached record highs- now said to be in the millions. RealtyTrac’s semiannual report was recently released titled, “1.9 Million foreclosure filings reported on more than 1.5 million U.S. Properties in first half of 2009.” At least the foreclosure listing company correctly assessed the records as foreclosure filings rather than simply ‘foreclosures’ as many reporters incorrectly state.
RealtyTrac also provides some additional information in the headline, which makes our job much easier, which is specifying 1.5 million homes …

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 …

A recent study has emerged profiling homeowners who have voluntarily defaulted on their mortgages. According to the study from Northwestern University and the University of Chicago, as many as 1 in 4 homeowners walked away from their homes, “despite the ability to make mortgage payments.”
The study titled, “Moral and Social Constraints to Strategic Defaults,” found that declining home values was a significant factor in increased defaults, surprisingly much more influential than that of job loss.
Another interesting finding was that as defaults increased, so did the likelihood that a homeowner would …

As a result of the onslaught of articles questioning RealtyTrac’s latest report, the company has offered insight into its data collection methods and its role in foreclosure data reporting. In the company’s defense, Rick Sharga, vice president of marketing, has been quoted as standing by the numbers.
RealtyTrac’s formal position regarding the Atlanta data exposé can be found in an Inman News article titled, “RealtyTrac numbers under fire in Atlanta,” published on June 23, 2009. According to the article written by Matt Carter, “RealtyTrac is standing behind the methods it …

Foreclosure Research was one of the first online publications to report that RealtyTrac numbers had yet to show much improvement from previous years’ allegations of inaccuracy.
There have been a whole slew of news articles pin-pointing current data discrepancies from the listing provider. The first of these coming from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published on June 21, 2009, titled “Foreclosure numbers don’t add up.” Author Carrie Teegardin assessed that RealtyTrac actually under reported foreclosure notices for the month of April by almost 4,000 filings, a disparity of nearly 100 percent.
The AJC …

Looking back on the last six months of 2009, foreclosures have seen their share of increases, decreases and record highs- or at least depending on who you ask. This inconsistency leaving the country to wonder what lies ahead for the economy. Many economists and real estate experts predict foreclosures will increase to highs greater than seen in years prior, while others predict a softening.
One thing is certain. The media has made it quite apparent that the worst is yet to come, highlighting reports of heightening foreclosure filings, or notices of …

More Q2 reports of apparent foreclosure records are hitting the media, with some of the most misguided reporting seen yet. Surprisingly, the particular article under scrutiny comes from Reuters, one of the most respected news wires in the world.
The article titled, “U.S. foreclosures jump to record high,” written by Lynn Adler, is a prefect example of the media’s tendency to report on “doom and gloom” or worse yet, give heed to more dramatic suppositions.
The headline, “U.S. foreclosures jump to record high” leaves out a rather important fact. According to the …

Yet another economically depressing article has made its way into the media and with an aptly named title, “And Now For This Morning’s Gloom…” The article, written by Henry Blodget and published in The Business Insider on May 5, 2009 offers more insight into foreclosures, job loss, and the economy.
However, there was one noticeable red flag where there was a reference to an unlikely source when discussing the implications of foreclosures on job loss. The following is a snippet from the article:
“According to RealtyTrac, job losses result in …

It looks like the foreclosure fishermen are at it again. There is no telling just how big… the foreclosure crisis is getting. The size and method of catch all depend on which statistical fisherman you ask.
RealtyTrac is just one purveyor of such foreclosure fish stories. Their figures have been up for debate for several years now. In the most recent press release the foreclosure rate per household left out one major piece of information. According to the release titled, “Foreclosure Activity Increases 9 Percent in First Quarter,” the company …