Foreclosures, Short Sales, and Deed-in-Lieu-of-Foreclosure Actions

Fourth Quarter 2008

Completed Foreclosures and Other Home Forfeiture Actions

Completed foreclosures and other home forfeiture actions-short sales and deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure actions-require borrowers to give up their homes. While homes are forfeited, both short sales and deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure generally have less adverse impact on borrowers and their credit reports than foreclosure.

Completed foreclosures of 89,634 during the fourth quarter were 29 percent lower than the third quarter. While short sales and deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure actions increased from 13,888 in the third quarter to 17,577 in the fourth quarter, total home forfeiture actions declined by 23.5 percent to 107,211 from the third to the fourth quarter. The number of home retention actions-loan modifications and payment plans-initiated during the fourth quarter was more than 2.8 times the number of completed foreclosures and other home forfeiture actions during the fourth quarter.

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