Congresswoman Waters Responds to Latest CA, National Foreclosure Numbers

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) released the following statement today:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – January 14, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — “Today, we heard that banks seized a record 1.05 million homes in 2010, topping the prior record from 2009.  This is despite a massive slowdown in foreclosures at the end of the year due to several major banks initiating voluntary moratoria as homeowner lawsuits, news reports and Congressional hearings – like the one I chaired on November 18 – created a groundswell of public pressure demanding reform.

“Fortunately, the data released today indicates that California is healing faster than the rest of the nation, though our recovery is perilous, as continued unemployment and newly-resetting mortgage interest payments have the potential to create another wave of foreclosures.  Low-income and minority communities continue to be the most vulnerable, with recent data from First American CoreLogic suggesting that the home repossession rate in the district I represent, CA-35, is about 50 percent higher than the national average.

“During the 112th Congress, I will remain committed to fighting for homeowners, holding our regulators accountable and reforming our nation’s mortgage servicing industry, which I believe fails to deliver loan modifications that can benefit homeowners, neighborhoods and mortgage investors alike.  And I will continue to scrutinize the foreclosure practices of these major servicers, which increasingly appear to be both socially irresponsible and, perhaps, illegal.”