The Phenomenal Increase in Riverside County Foreclosed Homes

Riverside County is in California, USA. Riverside City is the county seat. The Santa Ana River flows nearby and with its blessings grew up the famous citrus groves of California. Real estate prices have been comparatively low in this region and this has resulted in many commuting to Orange County for work. This led to an explosion in residential growth that contributed to staggering air pollution.

The phenomenal increase in Riverside County foreclosed homes is due to an overzealous activity in construction during the housing boom years. This was fed by money pouring in from the sub-prime mortgages. When the boom burst Riverside County foreclosed homes began to dot the scene. These Riverside County foreclosed homes were ugly spots on the neighbourhood.

Riverside County foreclosed homes are most visible in the south west part of the region. The number of Riverside County foreclosed homes show that there has been a double increase in August 2008 from what it was a year ago. However the number of Riverside County foreclosed homes has gone down slightly in comparison to the number of Riverside County foreclosed homes during the past few months. From the number of Riverside County foreclosed homes, the banks repossessed 900 houses and 1,300 units entered the foreclosure zone according to ForeclosureRadar. The number of bank repossessions doubled but the new numbers of Riverside County foreclosed homes jumped by 35% in comparison to a year ago. The fall in number of Riverside County foreclosed homes should not be a cause for celebration right now because in the historical perspective the number of Riverside County foreclosed homes are staggering. Among the Riverside County foreclosed homes, the concentration is in Temecula, Murrieta and Lake Elsinore. These areas comprise of 59% of all southwest Riverside County foreclosed homes.

RealtyTrac submitted a separate report on Riverside County foreclosed homes. According to it there was a 58% increase in Riverside County foreclosed homes – taking into account all the different stages of the foreclosure process. In August there were 11,485 foreclosure postings in Riverside County.

Riverside County was granted $48.5 million for foreclosure rescue operations. In California the county is ranked fourth in foreclosure count. HUD will be disbursing the amount in the near future as Community Development Bock Grant. The money would be utilized in purchasing foreclosed houses and refurbishing or demolishing them so as to make them available to the community as affordable housing. Families from the weaker economic strata will be financially helped to make down payments and pay incidental fees for getting a mortgage that will be insured. The Economic Development Agency will be acting in tandem with 14 cities in Riverside County to work out ground level details of the plan.

Meanwhile as the numbers of vacant houses increase Mother Nature is taking back what was once hers. As an instance the case of one empty unit being taken over by fierce bobcats in the Lake Elsinore can be cited with a shiver.