California ended 2009 the way it began, leading the nation in foreclosure activity for the entire year, tallying 632,573 properties with foreclosure filings along the way, according to the latest RealtyTrac® U.S. Foreclosure Market Report. The yearly total represents a 21 percent increase from the total reported for 2008, and is 154 percent higher than the level reported for all of 2007. “California maintained its status as the nation’s leader in foreclosure activity during 2009 and on a monthly basis in December,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “On the positive side, California’s overall foreclosure momentum showed signs of slowin Complete Story

There’s simply no doubt about it. Burlington, Vt., and neighboring South Burlington are the best housing market in America rated by the lowest number of foreclosures in the nation, and there’s not any doubt why. All bottom seven communities on the 2009 RealtyTrac foreclosure list are college towns, where local economies have been boosted by the rush to higher education. Burlington only saw 45 residential properties tagged with foreclosure notices in 2009, and not even all of them went to foreclosure. Only eight experienced the worst case scenario. Complete Story

Like many of her colleagues, Chicago Realtor Carol Grobman has been wondering for a long time why the real estate community at large, and the federal government in particular, have not made a move toward relieving the prolonged short sale process that has been trying the patience of their sellers and buyers alike. Well, the federal government has finally answered back, adding another acronym to its list of government-sponsored programs. This one is called HAFA (it stands for Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) and is part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).