Bottom line: Banks are canceling..further delaying foreclosures. Don’t be confused and assume there is any sort of DECREASE in the number of homes that will become short sales and REOs. The banks are doing this because they can’t handle the enormous growing volume of distressed property..they simply don’t have the staff. Also, the lenders know that home values are decreasing again (Double Dipping) and they are fearful that added inventory will only decrease home values.

NOTE: Harris Real Estate University will be providing a FREE REO and BPO training class this Thursday. Go here now for the information you need to attend.

FORECLOSURE FILINGS DECREASE TO LOWEST LEVEL IN YEARS, WHILE FORECLOSURE CANCELLATIONS INCREASE

Foreclosure activity slowed in April. Foreclosure filings were down in Arizona, California, Nevada and Washington, with Oregon being the sole exception where filings were up. California filings were down to levels not seen since late 2008, when governmental intervention caused a temporary but massive drop in activity. Foreclosure sales saw similar declines throughout our coverage area, except Washington. Notably, cancellations were up significantly across the board, leaving fewer propeties scheduled for trustee sale.

Key month over month trends for April include:

State	Notice of Default	Notice of Sale	Back to Bank	Sold to Third Party
Arizona	n/a	-27.9%	-22.2%	-15.4%
California	-25.8%	-10.9%	-17.2%	-15.8%
Nevada	-17.8%	-23.7%	-2.7%	+6.9%
Oregon	+236.3%	+12.5%	-14.8%	+38.7%
Washington	n/a	-12.1%	+38.7%	+40

After peaking at 4.77 percent late on Wednesday, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovered near 4.7 percent for the majority of the weekend, before falling to the current rate.

Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate on Tuesday morning was 3.84 percent and for 5/1 ARMs, the rate was 3.06 percent.

What are the rates right now? Check Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for up-to-the-minute mortgage rates for your state.

The legislation, the Prompt Decision for Qualification for Short Sale Act of 2011, was offered in Congress by U.S. Reps. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) and Robert Andrews (D-N.J.).

The current short sale process can be time-consuming and inefficient, and many would-be buyers end up walking away from a sale that could have saved a home owner from foreclosure, said NAR President Ron Phipps, broker-president of Phipps Realty in Warwick, R.I.

Realtors^© and consumers continue to raise issues about delays in the short sale process, because lenders are unable to decide whether to approve a short sale. After many months of delays, and with no response from lenders, potential buyers are losing patience and cancelling their contracts, often resulting in the property entering foreclosure. A short sale minimizes the negative impact on sellers and generally costs the lender less than a foreclosure, said Phipps.

NAR has been actively pushing the lending industry to improve the process for approving short sales, which represent about 13 percent of recent home sales according to NAR data. Phipps praised Reps. Rooney and Andrews for their efforts on the bill and urged Congress to pass the bill quickly.

As the leading advocate for home ownership and housing issues, Realtors^© want to help more home owners avoid foreclosure by facilitating a short sale when a family is absolutely unable to keep their home; however, that can only happen if lenders and servicers approve short sale offers in a reasonable amount of time, said Phipps. Streamlining short sales transactions will reduce the amount of time it takes to sell the property, improve the likelihood that the transaction will close and reduce the overall number of foreclosures. This benefits sellers, lenders, buyers and the entire community.

The National Association of Realtors^©, The Voice for Real Estate, is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the News Media section.

REALTOR^© is a registered collective membership mark which may be used only by real estate professionals who are members of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS^© and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics. Not all real estate agents are REALTORS^©. All REALTORS^© are members of NAR.