Foreclosure Fever (Charleston, Mount Pleasant: for sale, foreclosures, second mortgage)

[Luvsdabeach]

Foreclosure fever

More Charleston-area property owners face losing homes to mortgage lenders
By Katy Stech (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Sunday, July 20, 2008




Wade Spees
The Post and Courier
Charleston County Master-in-Equity Judy Dawkins sorts through files on foreclosure lawsuits. During the second quarter, 871 foreclosure lawsuits were filed against property owners in the Charleston area.

Tri-county foreclosure map

Fewer homeowners are able to keep up with loan payments on their properties, leading to higher-than-ever foreclosure rates across the Charleston area.
Foreclosures in the region hovered around recent records during the second quarter as lenders filed a total of 871 foreclosure lawsuits against property owners, an analysis by The Post and Courier has found.
The new numbers show that:
--Charleston County had 451 foreclosure filings for the three-month period that ended in June.
--Berkeley County's filings totaled 225 for the same period.
Combined, foreclosure filings in the two counties rose 59 percent compared to the same quarter last year.
--Dorchester County, which tracks its foreclosures by measuring the number of properties set for sale, had a 73 percent increase from the same period last year.
Increasingly, some of the residences lenders are taking back are in the more affluent parts of the Lowcountry.
On Kiawah and Seabrook islands, for example, a dozen foreclosure actions were filed during the second quarter. In the recent past, the islands have seen one or two foreclosures a quarter.
And the filing rate has nearly doubled this year in Mount Pleasant, with a total of 200 foreclosures.

Rest of article. Also read comments by citizen's.
Charleston, SC Latest Business News: Foreclosure fever

[Nausikaa]

For a more accurate picture:

U.S. FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY INCREASES 23 PERCENT IN FIRST QUARTER

[meks]

yes I agree with what many have been saying, we have atleast two more years before we see the bottom... homes have to at least come down enough to be affordable to the medium income in the area and even at that you have to find enough people willing to buy the thousands of empty homes we have... I've been scratching my head for a cpl yrs wondering where all these rich people are coming from that can afford these ridiculous prices by the thousands, obvioulsy we now see they couldn't afford them and maybe we'll have a chance for the market to correct itself over the next few years so locals can again afford the American dream... but of course with the way they've built these plastic homes all we have to do is wait for the next good storm and it will rid us of most of these vacant homes and then some...

[Luvsdabeach]

I often wondered what those people do for a living to be able to afford some of the prices I've seen and still seeing. People are crazy to have done the interest only loans and second mortgages.

[beachme]

But on a positive note..we are still way below the national average.

[Luvsdabeach]

Another good article.

Homes weren't always this expensive. Ten years ago, the average house sold for about $115,000.
But Charleston became a sought-after housing destination, luring residents from across the country and attracting speculators who bought investment property. Prices steadily grew until the nationwide housing boom caused them to skyrocket.

Rest of article.
Charleston, SC Latest Business News: Priced out of the American Dream

[meks]

Originally Posted by beachme

But on a positive note..we are still way below the national average.

try as you might there is nothing positive for the many losing their homes right now, and the many more that will...if there is a positive in this it's that housing prices will fall to affordable levels when the dust settles, and then people won't need ARMS with no money down low payments until 5 yrs from now etc etc to own a home and actually be able to STAY in it for life if wished... when housing prices drop to the early 90's levels we'll finally be where things will level off and the market will recover IMHO

[scjj]

It is always interesting to read the comments by the locals in those articles. They pretty much tell it like it is.

[Luvsdabeach]

Originally Posted by scjj

It is always interesting to read the comments by the locals in those articles. They pretty much tell it like it is.

I agree! They never sugar coat anything.

[Jim3310]

Originally Posted by meks

if there is a positive in this it's that housing prices will fall to affordable levels when the dust settles, and then people won't need ARMS with no money down low payments until 5 yrs from now etc etc to own a home and actually be able to STAY in it for life if wished... when housing prices drop to the early 90's levels we'll finally be where things will level off and the market will recover IMHO

The no doc/100% financing ARM's didn't make the homes affordable for those people. They couldn't afford them, period. They never should have been offered or taken those loans.

And I doubt very much that we will see early 90's pricing in Charleston.
jim