L.A., Orange County Home Foreclosures Take a Tumble

Bolstering hopes of a budding real estate recovery, home foreclosures in Los Angeles and Orange counties fell to among their lowest levels in a year, a real estate data firm reported Thursday.

In Orange County, where 912 homeowners went into foreclosure in November, the number marked the second-lowest total in two years. In Los Angeles, where 3,784 homes headed into foreclosure the same month, the number was the lowest since September 1995.

“Southern California seems to be emerging from real estate doldrums faster than the rest of the state,” said John Karevoll, an analyst with DataQuick, which monitors real estate activity nationwide.

The numbers contrast with overall state figures that saw November foreclosures rise 1.5% compared with a year earlier. In November, 12,257 California homeowners entered foreclosure, while 12,080 did so in November 1995, according to DataQuick.

Southern California Realtors, who have seen the market sputter toward recovery for years, welcomed the news. Real estate analysts say foreclosure activity exerts the greatest single influence in keeping home prices down.

“We’ve been up and down for quite some time and, hopefully, we’ve bottomed out,” said Jim Joseph, a Century 21 real estate broker based in La Mirada. “I think it’s a plus psychologically and may add to a cumulative effect of encouraging fence sitters to jump into the market.”

In both Los Angeles and Orange counties, foreclosure proceedings in November tumbled by nearly a fifth compared with the previous month. Foreclosures in November dropped 19.5% from the previous month in Orange County and slid 18.9% in L.A. County.

In Orange County, foreclosures dropped by nearly 20% when comparing November with the previous November. Los Angeles County logged about a 4% drop over the same period.

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Foreclosures Fall

Foreclosures in Los Angeles and Orange counties fell markedly in November. A look at the number of homes and condominiums that have gone into foreclosure in the six Southland counties and the state since January 1995, in thousands:

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Los Angeles Orange San Diego Riverside ’95 ’96 ’95 ’96 ’95 ’96 ’95 ’96 Jan. 3.4 4.5 0.99 1.4 0.75 1.3 1.0 1.2 Feb 3.1 4.3 0.87 1.4 0.70 1.1 0.90 1.2 Mar. 3.7 5.0 1.0 1.6 0.91 1.2 1.1 1.3 April 3.1 5.0 0.87 1.3 0.73 1.0 0.87 1.2 May 3.4 4.3 1.0 1.1 0.81 0.95 1.0 1.1 June 3.5 3.9 1.0 0.91 0.87 0.88 1.0 1.1 July 3.0 4.2 0.92 1.1 0.72 0.95 0.92 1.1 Aug. 3.7 4.3 0.97 1.1 0.88 0.88 1.1 1.1 Sept. 3.4 3.9 0.92 0.92 0.76 0.89 1.0 1.0 Oct. 4.2 4.7 1.3 1.1 0.91 0.87 1.2 1.2 Nov. 4.0 3.8 1.1 0.91 1.0 0.82 0.96 1.1 Dec. 4.1 NA 1.2 NA 0.95 NA 1.0 NA

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San Bernardino Ventura California ’95 ’96 ’95 ’96 ’95 ’96 Jan. 1.2 1.2 0.21 0.27 10.9 15.3 Feb 1.0 1.2 0.15 0.23 9.8 13.9 Mar. 1.3 1.4 0.22 0.27 12.2 15.5 April 1.1 1.2 0.21 0.33 9.9 14.5 May 1.3 1.2 0.21 0.28 11.2 13.1 June 1.2 1.0 0.21 0.23 11.2 11.7 July 1.1 1.3 0.18 0.26 10.0 13.0 Aug. 1.3 1.3 0.23 0.24 12.0 13.8 Sept. 1.2 1.1 0.18 0.23 10.9 12.2 Oct. 1.1 1.4 0.25 0.29 12.9 14.6 Nov. 0.91 1.0 0.22 0.25 12.1 12.3 Dec. 1.1 NA 0.22 NA 12.7 NA

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NA: Not available

Sources: Acxiom/Dataquick