San Diego County: Experts Making Sense of the Numbers
While defined as only a small percentage of the housing market, residential foreclosures in San Diego County were up–significantly. Data Quick is report that there were 1,612 foreclosures in 2006, compared with 212 in 2005. That’s a jump of 660%. Data Quick is quick to point out that the numbers for 2005 were “unnaturally low” and that the foreclosure numbers are returning to a “more normal range”.
Michael C. Fratantoni, senior economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, believes that foreclosure activity throughout California is still well below the national level. The MBA’s data supports this as the national rate for total delinquency of all types of loans is approximately 4.67% while the rate in California is only 2.68%.
Economist G.U. Krueger concurs that default activity has not reached “historically dangerous levels” and that economic distress is not widespread. However, he acknowledges that it is a delicate situation right now as everyone watches interest rates and the overall state of the economy — two factors that directly impact the foreclosure rates.