Despite the fact that most foreclosure listing companies reported a nationwide decrease in foreclosures and default filings, the media offered headlines donned with the usual negative perspective.
RealtyTrac seems to be the only major listing company that offered statistics for August. The foreclosure listing company reported a 1 percent decrease in filings with a 13 percent decrease in repossessions. ForeclosureS.com didn’t offer a report for the month presumably because they found an increase in fillings, as they have historically reported larger number of properties in foreclosure.
Here are some of …

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 …

Along the same vein as prior articles on responsible reporting in the media, there seems to be more awareness towards media outlets touting gloom and doom figures. The people are beginning to publicly question the backings of all these new reports.
The latest of these articles comes out of the editorial/opinion column in the Outlook, a local paper in Oregon. Published on April 8, 2009, local realtor Jon Hull voices his opinion in his letter, “Responsible reporting vs. doom and gloom.” In the letter, Hull describes how journalism has “helped …

Throughout Foreclosure Research’s endeavor to find the truth behind foreclosure data, many different avenues have been explored to help demystify foreclosure statistics. Some of the more obvious causes of these untruths so to speak, came from the inaccuracies of several foreclosure listing providers, and from faulty reporting in the media.
However, the underlying truth behind the economy, foreclosures, and the housing market downturn are unarguably complex. Yet many factors are identifiable and some more pertinent than others.
One interesting perspective that has yet to be noted comes from Jay Brinkmann, a …

It looks like the December foreclosure figures were overshadowed by reports of an 81 percent increase in 2008. Just a quick analysis shows that those figures should have been given a little more priority by media outlets as many states reflected a decrease or very slight increases in filings for the month, a great sign in the midst of a bedraggled economy.
In fact, there was only a trickle of articles mentioning a decrease for the month of December, at least according to recent headlines. Most continued to report increases …

With third quarter reports still trickling in, foreclosure research agencies continue to take varying approaches to how their foreclosure numbers are reported. One method is no less confusing that the next, especially when compounded with reporter bias.
Take the latest foreclosure statistics article published on December 5, 2008, from the website, CNNMoney.com. The article is titled, “Foreclosures soar 76% to record 1.35 million,” and is written by Tami Luhby. The article offers a totally different approach to presenting foreclosure statistics by providing the ‘default rate’. The ‘default rate’ is not to …

With the latest third-quarter figures still in the news, now is a good time for some further scrutinization. Strategically and purposefully, it seems that foreclosure listings companies offer their statistics in varying forms as not to draw any obvious attention to the disparities afflicting the data.
The most recent reports do just that.  An article published on October 10, 2008 in the South Florida Business Journal, uses ForeclosureS.com reported numbers for Florida during the period of September, 2008. The article, titled, “Florida ranks No. 3 for foreclosures,” stated there were …