The number of new mortgage default notices (NODs) and foreclosure sale notices (NOTs) declined in September from their record-shattering August levels, but both figures remain extremely elevated on a historical basis. There were 2,074 NODs filed in the county, a decline of 12 percent from August but more than double the number of NODs filed in September 2006. The 767 September NOTs similarly represents a 15 percent decline from the prior month, but nearly a fourfold increase over a year ago.
The accompanying graph shows that despite the month-to-month decline, the numbers of new NOTs and NODs remain well above levels seen during the 1990s downturn.
Friends in the business inform me that foreclosure activity slowed abruptly during Labor Day week and then resumed its upward climb for the remainder of September. The implication is that the slowdown from August was more a vagary of holiday schedule than the beginning of a new trend. If this is true, the pace of foreclosures should rise again in October.
If you are interested in more detail on how all these foreclosures are affecting San Diego, check out Kelly Bennett‘s latest article.
— RICH TOSCANO