It looks like RealtyTrac and Foreclosures.com are getting closer to similar reporting results but have yet to get it down to a science. The most recent statistics for Clark County Nevada came to only a 6.5% disparity compared to past differences of up to 100%. While the percent difference was closer than usual, the difference in the total properties varied by 13%.
It’s also getting harder and harder to catch. While RealtyTrac reports foreclosure flings, which include both default notices and REO properties, ForeclosureS.com reports them separately. Also, many times …

The first month of the year may be an indicator of better times to come. For the first time in a while all foreclosure listing companies reported a decline in January foreclosures.
As seems to be the norm, the percent by which foreclosures decreased continues to be up to debate. According to an article published in Ad Hoc News, ForeclosureS.com reported that nationwide foreclosure had decreased 25 percent. The company also reported a 12 percent decrease in foreclosure filings.
However, according to a separate series of articles, a different percent was …

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 …

Some more conflicting numbers are out this week along with a sprinkle of blatantly wrong information. Foreclosure statistics for 2008 continue to make national headlines. Last week’s Foreclosure Research article focused on foreclosure fillings while this week’s article will take a glimpse at actual foreclosures across the country in 2008.
One article out of BusinessWeek offered some foreclosure statistics from ForeclosureS.com. According to the article, “the foreclosure process was begun on 2 million” homes but there were “over one million lost homes,” or actual repossessions.
However, according to an Associated …

The yearly reports for 2008 are beginning to roll through. The various 2008 foreclosure analyses are looking less like reports and more like statistical conjectures. As Foreclosure Research has reported in the past, every foreclosure listing company has their own set of data and their own data gathering methods. Many times monthly reports show great differences but in light of a year’s synopsis the variance is immense.
One article from Market Watch titled, “U.S. foreclosure filings in 2008 rose 81% from 2007,” offered data from RealtyTrac. According to the article, …

With the year coming to a close, many companies and researchers are eager to predict the outcome of the 2009 market. With the economy hovering in a state of uncertainty, the upcoming New Year is on everybody’s mind. Real estate especially has seen a tumultuous year with the rise and fall of foreclosure rates, although the industry has seen more increases than decreases.
Foreclosure listing companies have offered a variety of foreclosure statistics throughout the year. Some reporting more accurate numbers than others, but all in all giving their representation …

You never know when foreclosures are up or down in this market. Actually, even despite the market, foreclosures can be up, and at the same time they can be down.
Are you confused? You should be.
Take one of the latest foreclosure articles as an example. This article, titled “foreclosure rates up 25 percent year-over-year,” describes how ” more than 279,500 U.S. homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in October (an increase of 5 percent over September).” The article written by Adrian Sanz was published in Yahoo news on …

Third quarter numbers have been released to the press with yet again many articles offering more conflicting numbers. Depending on the source of the foreclosure data, most likely readers will see a variety of figures reflecting the current state of the foreclosure market.

The first of these articles comes from CNNMoney.com titled, “81,312 homes lost to foreclosure in September.” The article published on October 23, 2008 by Catherine Clifford offers figures from Realty Trac, an Irvine, CA based listing company.

As stated in the headline, there were 81,312 foreclosures during the …

Revisiting the issue of ForeclosureS.com 5 million listings claim, Foreclosure Research discovered another discrepancy with the data provider’s listings.  That issue was that the company may be using .. not so true.. listings as a type of filler, in order to boost total listing numbers.
Nevada seems to have many of these types of listings with Lyon County, Nevada being the biggest offender.

In the image above readers can see a screenshot of a search results page for Lyon County, Nevada.  This shot was taken two weeks ago from today.  However, revisiting …

Not too long ago ForeclosureS.com announced that the site offered over 5 million property listings. Even with the current foreclosure frenzy in the media, this number seemed inflated. They also advertised this figure directly on the homepage of the site, where other foreclosure listings companies offer their current listings. As mentioned in a prior post, “Figuring Out the Figures,” ForeclosureS.com now does not offer any current listing numbers anywhere on the site and has removed the “5 million listings” on their home page.

However, I was able to …