Mortgage defaults in California increased for the first time in more than three years during the third quarter of 2005, according to newly released data.
The bulk of the default notices were sent to Southern California addresses, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based research service.
Analysts attributed the statewide rise to slower price gains and riskier loans, which give homeowners less margin for error.
Default notices can lead to foreclosures, in which owners lose their homes due to missed or late payments.
"Foreclosure activity has bottomed out and is starting to go back up," said John Karevoll, DataQuick's chief analyst.
Lenders sent default notices to 12,568 California homeowners during the July-September quarter, a 3.5 percent increase from the same period in 2004, according to DataQuick. Default notices hadn't increased statewide on a year-over-year basis since the first quarter of 2002.
Friday, October 28, 2005
California mortgage defaults rise
The AP reports:
