Poor maintenance allows lint to build up in the exhaust duct which is a fire hazard.

Tip #8: Make sure all electrical holiday decorations have tight connections.

Foreclosures down for third straight month as lenders manage backlog: RealtyTrac

Foreclosure filings in August fell 5% from a year ago, the third straight month of declines, according to RealtyTrac, an online foreclosure marketplace.

The last time foreclosure filings increased was a 1% uptick in May, when 322,920 properties received either a default notice, scheduled auction or bank repossession. Since then, foreclosures have dropped 6.9% in June, and 10% in July.

In August, 338,836 properties received a foreclosure filing, which is a 4% increase from July but still down 5% from last year. James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, said default notices and bank repossessions were nearly equal in August, an indication that lenders are carefully managing the clogged foreclosure pipeline.

“On the front end, seriously delinquent loans are rolling into foreclosure at an unusually slow rate, while on the back end the dammed-up inventory of properties already in foreclosure is moving to REO in steady stream rather than a flood — presumably to prevent further erosion of home prices,” Saccacio said.

Nevada still holds the highest foreclosure rate in the country. There, one in 84 properties received a filing in August.

Florida notices fell 46% from last year but still held the second highest foreclosure rate in the country. In Arizona, one in 165 properties had a foreclosure filing, the third highest. California foreclosures accounted for 20% of the national total in August with more than 69,000 receiving a foreclosure filing in the month. It’s a 9% drop from last year.

On the metro level, the previous foreclosure hotspots continue to lead the way but are trending down. In Las Vegas, one in every 73 properties received a filing in August, a 25% drop from last year but still the highest in the country.

Modesto, Calif. filings were second. There, one in every 95 properties received a filing. Six other California metro areas were in the top-10.

Housing Inventories Rise for Eighth Straight Month

Housing inventories rose in many U.S. cities for the eighth straight month in August in a sign of the continued headwinds facing a soft housing market. The number of available homes for sale in 26 major metropolitan areas at the end of August increased 0.4% from one month earlier, according to figures compiled by ZipRealty Inc., a real-estate brokerage firm based in Emeryville, Calif. The figures include all single-family homes, condominiums and townhouses listed on local multiple-listing services in markets where the firm operates. (See the full data). Inventories traditionally rise modestly in August. Zelman & Associates, a research firm, says listings have typically risen by 2% in August over the past 28 years. The less-than-average gain in inventories is troubling, nonetheless, because demand has fallen sharply since a tax credit to spur sales expired earlier this year. At the current pace, it would take 12.5 months to clear the backlog of unsold homes, according to the National Association of Realtors. A healthy market typically a six-month supply of homes. Inventories nationally remain at their highest levels since November 2008, according to Zelman data. The August inventory in the 26 markets tracked by ZipRealty showed a 10.6% year-over-year increase in the number of unsold homes listed for sale. A number of cities, including Houston, Philadelphia, and Orange County, Calif., remain at 18 month highs. “It’s across the country where you’re seeing really big inventory levels,” says Pat Lashinsky, chief executive of ZipRealty. The biggest gains in inventory continue to come from overheated Western markets where bidding wars on foreclosures pushed the housing supply down to very low levels one year ago. Las Vegas saw inventory rise by 9.3% from July, while listings were up by 4.6% in Phoenix and 3.8% in San Diego. Compared to one year ago, inventories are up by 59% in San Diego, 43% in Orange County, Calif., and 25% in Los Angeles. One big problem facing the market are the number of home sellers who can’t lower their prices any further without selling their home for less than they owe. Those sellers are often unwilling to reduce prices. Buyers, meanwhile, think prices are going to drop and interest rates aren’t going to rise soon, leaving them little incentive to make a deal now. Sellers and buyers “are waiting for the other one to make a move, and neither one is,” says Mr. Lashinsky. One of the biggest misconceptions about the market right now, he adds, is that there’s no interest in housing. There are plenty of buyers waiting the buy, he says, but not at current prices. On a monthly basis, inventories fell in half of all markets, led by Austin, Texas, which was down 3.8%, followed by Charlotte, N.C., (down 3%) and Boston (down 2%). For the year, inventories are down in Miami (8.6%), Chicago (2.2%) and Orlando, Fla., (2.2%). Inventories are falling in more markets in part because sellers are just taking their homes off the market. “Sellers have realized, ‘I just can’t get the price I want. Instead, I’m going to stay here,’” says Mr. Lashinsky. While that may work for buyers who just can’t lower their prices any further, he says, “if you think you can put it back on nine months later for 10% more, that’s not a very wise strategy.”

More home listings seeing price reductions in August

Nearly half of the houses for sale in the U.S. are listed for less than what the seller originally asked for, with the average list price declining 7.1% in 26 U.S. markets, according to a survey released by ZipRealty.

The Emeryville, Calif.-based Internet real estate brokerage said that in August, 47% of houses for sale had a least one listing price reduction since first going on the market, up 3.26% from July’s level. ZipRealty tracks data in 26 major housing markets. On average, home sellers are reducing prices twice to garner enough interest from prospective buyers.

The average price reduction was $19,092, ZipRealty said, adding the national median list price dropped 2.1% to $249,631 in August. Less than 1% of the houses listed for sale were new listings in August, indicating that fewer sellers are entering the post-homebuyer tax credit market, said ZipRealty Vice President Leslie Tyler.

“It appears that homebuyers are taking their time as they don’t feel a sense of urgency to make an offer, unless the price is right, and sellers are having to aggressively cut their prices to stay competitive in this market,” Tyler said. “We typically find if a buyer hasn’t walked through the door in 30 to 45 days, a seller needs to lower their asking price. If a home hasn’t had an offer in six months, it’s time to rethink the sale.”

The chart below shows the markets with the largest median price reduction in absolute dollars (click to expand):

The markets with the smallest median reduction in absolute dollars were Dallas and Houston, which each experienced a $10,000 reduction in August.

Jacksonville, Fla., had the highest percentage of price-reduced homes; with 55% house listings having at least one price reduction. Other markets where more than half of sellers reduced asking price include Austin, Texas; Chicago; Minneapolis, Minn.; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.

The Denver market had the lowest rate of price-reduced listings, at 33.2% in August, followed by Los Angeles (41.4%) and the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Palm Beach market (42.3%)

Florida markets took the top three spots in the rate of price reduction, led by Miami, with a 12.32% reduction, Orlando (11.49%) and Jacksonville (11.24%).

The data is based on real estate listing and price reduction data from the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) in 26 of the 35 housing markets where the real estate brokerage operates as of Sept. 1. ZipRealty noted in its report that the research it provides is intended to indicate general market conditions and trends, not the company’s operational performance. As a publicly traded entity, it referred questions on its own performance to its public disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)