SACRAMENTO -- California realty markets may see an upsurge in mortgage defaults, a foreclosure tracking Web site said Monday.
Alexis McGee, Foreclosures.com president, said: "Affordability is the key issue now. Only 18 percent of California households can afford a median-priced home in our state.
Sales volume was dropping off in several southern California markets, Foreclosurers.com said, most notably in Orange County, where sales fell by more than 27 percent year to year. In Ventura County a drop of almost 19 percent was seen, and in Los Angeles County, volume declined by 7.8 percent.
McGee reported that in the third quarter of 2004, 3,697 homes in Los Angeles had entered the foreclosure process. "That's close to second quarter activity, and about as low as it gets in that market." She added that the situation in the north was similar. "In eight of nine Bay Area counties, we saw third quarter default filings of 2,888, up from 2,573 from the previous quarter."
Foreclosures.com, in Sacramento, is a real estate investment advisory firm specializing in distressed property and has been tracking foreclosures since 1992.
