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 …

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 …

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 …

A couple of years ago RealtyTrac was in some hot water for over-inflating foreclosure statistics for the state of Colorado. According to one Foreclosure Article in The Seattle Times, published online on June 16, 2007, “RealtyTrac reported 54,747 foreclosures last year — one of the highest in the nation. The state’s Division of Housing, however, said the actual number was 28,453 and publicly chastised the firm for inflating numbers.”
The article titled, “Numbers from foreclosure statistics company questioned,” continued by stating the company doubled, even triple-counted foreclosures for a single property.
The …

Just two years ago, RealtyTrac was in some hot water over counting foreclosure filings multiple times for a single property and providing inflated foreclosure statistics to the media. Since then, the company has said to have changed its data collecting and reporting methods. However, as seen in last week’s articles, many of these duplicate listings are still appearing throughout the media.
On their statistics page, readers can see the different categories for filings; however, the actual numbers are not easy to come by. One would have to break out a calculator …

It looks like Foreclosure research isn’t the only website/researcher uncovering the discrepancies between foreclosure listings providers and the news publications that report their data.
According to a blog on The Washington Post, author Elizabeth Razzi voices her frustrations with foreclosure reporting. In an article posted on March 16, 2009, titled “How Many Foreclosed or Homeless?” Razzi writes, “One of the biggest frustrations in trying to report about this housing crisis and recession is the lack of reliable numbers on two of its most dire outcomes: foreclosures and homelessness.”
Razzi continues by stating, …

In the midst of foreclosure reports touting the worst of the real estate market meltdown, one article seemed to stray away from the pack. Published on March 2, 2009 on The New York Times Web site, the article headline reads, “Foreclosure Rates Aren’t Really That High…”
While many would say otherwise, the fact that the article was such a departure from the usual doom and gloom warranted a further look. According to the article by Catherine Rampell, a new study out of the University of Virginia states that foreclosures …

In parts I and II of “The Underbelly of an Online Listing Provider,” Foreclosure Research set out to uncover the truth behind Foreclosure Store’s deceptive façade. Beyond duplicitous listings and charging methods, every factor of the company seems to be wrought with deceptive or unethical tactics.
Take the sign-up page for the free trial for example. At meets the eye, it looks incredibly similar to a competing foreclosure listing site, Foreclosure.com (See photos 1 and 2). The layout and styles are the same and even the text is copied verbatim. In …