Foreclosure activity fell in 14 of the top 20 U.S. metropolitan areas in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, even though total U.S. foreclosures rose, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

The declines in some big metro areas, however, reflected government efforts to stem foreclosures and did not indicate that the tide of foreclosures has turned, RealtyTrac said.

The Sun Belt continued to lead in foreclosures, with four Sun Belt states accounting for all of the 20 metropolitan areas with the highest rates in the first quarter, the real estate data company said.

But the majority of those top metro areas, with populations over 200,000, reported decreasing foreclosure activity compared with the first quarter of 2009, RealtyTrac, based in Irvine, California, said.

California accounted for 10 out of the top 20 metro foreclosure rates, followed by Florida with seven, Nevada with two, and Arizona with one, RealtyTrac said in a quarterly report.

Foreclosure activity declined on a year-over-year basis in eight of 10 biggest metro areas.

“The decreasing foreclosure activity in some of the nation’s top foreclosure hot spots in the first quarter is largely the result of government intervention and other non-market influences, and not a sure signal that those areas are out of the woods yet when it comes to foreclosures,” James J. Saccacio, chief executive of RealtyTrac, said in a statement.

Full story is available in Reuters

If you’re buying a home right now, you have plenty of reasons to feel good: Interest rates are low, and housing prices around Boston, while not the mind-boggling bargains you might hope for, are overall considerably lower than they were at their peak in 2005. And while the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit expires tomorrow, there are lots of good deals to be had.

With the sales season under way, we canvassed local real-estate brokers and housing market specialists for tips and broader home-ownership wisdom. Following these tips — some of them evergreen, but particularly relevant in the current economy — will not only make the process go more smoothly, but perhaps your stay as well.

1. GET YOUR FINANCING IN ORDER

This bit of advice topped the lists of most of the brokers we talked to. Given tighter lending practices and that it’s a competitive buyers’ market, would-be buyers need to have their ducks in a row so that they’re ready when they see the right home.

“The seller wants to know that if they do accept the offer, that barring catastrophic title issues or inspection issues, the deal is going to go through,’’ said Gary Dwyer, broker-owner of Buyer Agents of Boston.

Amy Meller, broker-owner of the Sudbury-based MassHomeSales.com, recommends having a full pre-approval within the past 30 days. “Six months is no good anymore, because the rules keep changing,’’ she says.

Buyers also need to consider all of their obligations were the deal to go through including how much money they’re going to need for a down payment, monthly payment, property tax, condominium fees (if applicable), insurance, utilities, transportation costs, and a buffer for repair costs.

2. UNDERSTAND YOUR TIME HORIZON

If you’re looking for a place to hang your hat for the next two or three years, your home search will differ from that of someone who’s perhaps having a baby and planning to stay for the next 10 years, says Waltham-based broker Rachel Hillman. As a shorter-term buyer, you might consider whether the place is a good investment, and if it’s the kind of property that’s going to be attractive for the next buyer. “What concerns you now is going to be a concern in a few years,’’ Hillman says. A house near train tracks, for instance, is probably not what most people are looking for.

But for someone who’s planning to stay longer, a good school system or larger lot size might make up for the trains thundering past.

3. KNOW THE OVERALL MARKET CONDITIONS

Investigate what comparable properties have sold for over the past three to six months, Dwyer advises. If you’re working with a buyer’s agent, he or she should know what fair-market value is, not just the list price. If you’re not working with an agent, sites with pricing information such as www.zillow.com or www.trulia.com could help.

Full story is available on boston.com

America is one of the largest countries in the world. The standard of living in the United States is much higher than that of even established European countries. This also means that we live with a large amount more debt  than the average citizen of another country as well. For example, there are millions of home loans in America today. While these loans provide a roof over a families head they do not often take into consideration what the borrower is making and whether they will be able to afford the cost of the mortgage over the long term.

So, the question is how many homeowners have a mortgage at the moment?

There are approximately 50 millions home loans in America at the moment.

In August 2009, Deutsche Bank released a report that stated 25 million mortgages would be underwater by 2011. This astounding figure represents a projected 48% of all U.S. home loans. Deutsche estimates that prime conforming and prime jumbo mortgages will be 79% of all home loans. They estimate that 41% of conforming and 47% of jumbo loans will be underwater.

Full story is available on LoanSafe.org

A leader in Jacksonville, Florida realty, Davidson Realty wants homeowners in financial hardship situations or facing foreclosure to know about new regulations from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA) which went into affect on April 5th. Explains Davidson Realty President Sherry Davidson, “The new HAFA rules are a huge help for homeowners who otherwise might be faced with foreclosure. A HAFA short sale can help homeowners protect their credit, gain a $3,000 relocation incentive and not worry about future liability so they can get on with their lives.”

The top five things homeowners should know about the new HAFA short sale, include:

1. Homeowners who qualify for a HAFA short sale are fully released from future liability for the first mortgage debt. This means that the mortgage lender cannot come after the homeowner at any future time for repayment of the original loan.

2. A HAFA short sale allows for a $3,000 relocation assistance payment for homeowners. That’s a one-time payment of up to $3,000 to help sellers with moving costs, rent security costs, etc.

3. Most major lenders are already on board with the new HAFA rules, including Citibank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Wachovia, Chase, Wamu, and the list continues to grow.

4. With HAFA, the short sale process has been standardized and streamlined so homeowners can expect a quicker outcome.

5. Homeowners can enlist the Realtor of their choice to help them through the HAFA process so they have an advocate.

Full story is available on EarthTimes.org

The problem of home foreclosures has been a growing problem in the state, but local homeowners finding themselves in trouble might be able to get some help through the Homesaver Rescue Fund.

Funds are available to homeowners in danger of foreclosure through the fund. A local woman who has taken advantage of the opportunity, Maria Gutierrez, had been in her house for 10 years before recently experiencing a drop in her income.

Gutierrez had come to the area from Puerto Rico 30 years ago without being able to speak English, but has since learned the language, earned a master’s degree and bought a home in the Forest Park neighborhood of Springfield. However, a health condition forced her to quit one of her two full-time jobs, and the bills began to stack up against her. She was looking for a little assistance to stay in the home she worked hard to buy.

Full story is available on wggb.com

There is a furious debate going on within the real estate community right now. The subject: Are we about to be hit by a second wave of home foreclosures – perhaps bigger than the first?

The theory goes, while the subprime home foreclosures have already come and gone, many Alt-A and adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are about to reset at higher rates over the course of this year and next. There are many more ARMs out there then there were subprime mortgages.

As rates reset – and, especially with a significant portion of homeowners now out of a job – we’ll see a large influx of defaults on mortgages.

One report believes that the Bank of America will see foreclosures in its portfolio spike 600% compared with last year.

Meanwhile, mortgage defaults are already up 16% compared with the same time frame last year.

However, optimists point to a decreasing number of actual home foreclosures at the moment – two straight months of decline, in fact. Some analysts point to rapidly falling home prices as part of the reason. Once homeowners saw they owed more than their house was worth, they walked away before reaching foreclosure.

In reality, it’s very difficult to know the truth about these numbers. In recent times, banks have been very opaque about their true mortgage delinquency rates, often keeping homes out of foreclosure so as to avoid the loss in their quarterly statements, even though buyers have stopped paying their mortgages.

Full story is available on Taipan Publishing Group

Let the bankers come with their foreclosure notices. Invite the building inspectors, too. At 100 years old, Agnes Albinger has lived on her 70-acre patch of farmland longer than most of those people have been alive.

She has seen two world wars come and go, survived the Depression — in part by subsisting on minnow stew — and raised 40 foster children. Now, she has become a rallying point in this rural community as she fights to keep her Monee farm.

“I’ll never leave,” she said one recent morning, as she stood with a walker on her sagging front porch, looking out over the fields she tended for most of her life. “I’d like to stay here until I die. This is my home. This was my land. I owned everything once. I worked awful hard on this place to make it what it was.”

As Albinger faces foreclosure on the property where she has lived since 1949, a coalition of friends and strangers has mobilized to help the woman everyone calls “Aunt Aggie.” They have set up a , Web site, saveagnesfarm.com, and volunteered to help with cleaning and repairs. On a recent Saturday, nearly 100 people showed up to clear brush and haul away rusting farm equipment.

Full story is available on Chicago Tribune

There’s a lot to consider if you want to buy a house with someone who is not your spouse. Brokers and real estate lawyers say the vast majority of purchases still are sole ownership or tenancy by the entirety, which is when a married couple purchases a home together. However, they do see transactions where unrelated people, often investors, purchase property together, or where relatives other than spouses — such as siblings or a parent and child — pool their resources. For these kinds of transactions the legal language needs to be carefully spelled out, says Joe Gentile, a real estate lawyer with Federal Title and Escrow in the District.

“There are mainly two ways to take tenancy when several people are purchasing a home,” he says. “You can have joint tenancy, where two people own equal shares of the property. If it is joint tenancy with the right of survivorship, then the property automatically transfers to the survivors. “The other way to take title is tenancy in common, where upon the death of the owners, the property automatically transfers to the deceased’s heirs,” he said. “Also, the owners can own unequal parts of the property.” Joseph Himali, broker with Best Address Real Estate says there is no “better way” to purchase, but adds he would ask a prospective buyer to think things through.

The conventional wisdom has it that the soon-to-expire government tax credit for home purchases was a success. After all, it drove people back into the real estate market and helped to ignite a fire under a still-nascent recovery.

But suppose the conventional wisdom is wrong? Suppose it was all really smoke and mirrors? Suppose most of the recent home buyers were going to buy a house anyway, with or without the credit; while many others weren’t even old enough to buy a house, which didn’t stop them (or their parents?) from claiming the government credit.

A rather disturbing New York Times article connects the dots of some previously reported material and paints a not very pretty picture of a government program that was “successful” at some levels, but overly costly and not targeted at the people who could have used help the most.

The program which wraps up at the end of this week (though home-buyers have til the end of June to close the deal to qualify for the credit) gives $8,000 to first-time buyers and $6,500 to those moving up to a new home (provided they lived in their old home at least five years).

Full story is available on Housing Watch

If you’re on the fence about buying a new home, there’s some incentive to make a decision quickly.

The Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit expires Friday. In order to qualify for the tax credit, you must sign a contract to a house by April 30.

There are two tax credits available — up to an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers and up to a $6,500 tax credit for an existing homebuyer looking to move into another house.

The federal government extended the deadline from November to help boost a sluggish housing market.

So far, more than 19,000 Arkansans have already collected the credit.

Some real estate agents said this may be the last chance to take advantage of the tax credit. They don’t expect it to be renewed. But they said it’s not too late if you’re still looking to buy.

Full story is available on 4029tv.com