As 2009 comes to a close let us revisit some of the top stories of the year. Undoubtedly the year was awash in news of a depressed economy and a depressed real estate market. However, with the cyclic nature of both these areas, we can only wait and see what developments arise in the coming year, and in the coming decade.
January 2009
Foreclosure Research reports mixed figures on foreclosure filings and REOs for 2008.
According to RealtyTrac there were a total of 3.16 million filings for the year. ForeclosureS.com reported …

It is evident that ForeclosureResearch is not the only one with concerns over certain foreclosure reporting companies The Housing Assistance Council, a Washington DC non-profit, has also expressed concerns over foreclosure data in certain areas of the country. Such concerns were recently released in an October 2009 HAC report, “What is the housing foreclosure situation in rural America?”
The report specifically describes concerns over RealtyTrac figures. Here is a snippet of the report:
RealtyTrac presents data for approximately 2,200 counties across the United States. This excludes roughly 900 counties, most of …

It has been a little over a year since the state of Colorado took foreclosure reporting into its own hands. Last month the state released its first yearly foreclosure report based on the numbers of its own collection methods. Colorado was the first state to break away from a reliance on the many times inaccurate reporting of RealtyTrac.
The only snag seemed to be reports comparing August and September 2009 rates with the prior year. According to the foreclosure data report, “the large difference in foreclosure filing totals between …

It looks like the foreclosure giant RealtyTrac has laid off a considerable number of employees within the last month. According to Inman News “RealtyTrac has trimmed its workforce by nearly 30 employees and is moving away from some media partnerships.” The layoffs comprise roughly a quarter of its current workforce.
According to Hitwise, an online metrics company, the company has exhibited a steady decrease in traffic over the last few months. The company also moved down in the rankings to 18 from 10 for overall online real estate popularity.
In the …

According to a revealing article in the Hartford Courant, RealtyTrac “radically” revised its total Connecticut foreclosure filings for the month of June. The article published on August 15, 2009, written by Kenneth R. Gosselin, states that the company first reported an 80 percent decrease in foreclosure filings when actually there was an increase of 31.5 percent.
The original numbers were revised due to further investigation by Courant reporters following the surprisingly low level of filings originally reported by the foreclosure data company.
RealtyTrac first reported only 56 foreclosure filings while the revision …

The first half of 2009 foreclosure reports continues to trickle in. Coming as no surprise to readers of Foreclosure Research, the reports have their variances in outcomes- some of these variances greater than others.
The latest report is comprised of figures from ForeclosureS.com who is no stranger to the media spotlight. The report was published in the Orlando Business Journal on July 9, 2009 titled, “Fla. Ranks No. 2 in foreclosures.”
According to the article, ForeclosureS.com reported 256,133 filings between January 2009 and June 2009. As for bank repossessions, ForeclosureS.com …

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, …

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 …

With 2009 now upon us, let us review the past year and see how the real estate market and the media reporting it have evolved from day one.
July 2008: the birth of Foreclosure Research
Key Points:
-Lack of articles publishing current decreases in foreclosures but rather focusing on increases from prior years.
-RealtyTrac reports 3% decrease in foreclosures from May to June, ForeclosureS.com reports 5.35% increase from May to June.
- No “current foreclosure” statistics available on RealtyTrac or ForeclosureS.com, making it nearly impossible to confirm their reported statistics.
August 2008
Key Points:
-Article reports conflicting numbers …