July 2008 Foreclosure Report Issued by PropertyShark.com: 'We are Still in the Middle of a Housing Hurricane...'

New York, NY (PRWEB) August 6, 2008 -- PropertyShark.com, the premier real estate data site, today released its monthly report covering first-time residential foreclosures in Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle and New York City for July 2008.

Key Takeaways (New York City, Miami, Los Angeles)

? Foreclosures increase in all four regions; LA and Miami reach two-year -- Compared to July 2007, the Los Angeles foreclosure rate was on top with a 249% increase, followed by Seattle with 156%, Miami up 137%, and New York City up 67%.

? One in every 526 LA County homes scheduled in July -- In Los Angeles, one in every 526 homes was scheduled for a first time foreclosure auction in July 2008. In comparison, New York City registers one in every 10,000 homes scheduled for foreclosure auction.

? Queens dominates New York City foreclosure activity -- In July, the top New York City zip codes for foreclosure activity were in Queens (specifically Jamaica and St. Albans). Exacerbating the situation, overall residential sales transactions in these zip codes dropped by 40% in the first two quarters of 2008 compared to the first two quarters of 2007, and the median sale price dropped to $413,000 from $452,000 for this area.

? Lien amount exceeds $2 billion for new LA County foreclosures in July -- This is the first month during the last two years in which the total aggregate lien amount from new LA County foreclosures has exceeded $2 billion. In Los Angeles County, the sum of the aggregate lien amounts for properties scheduled for trustee sales in July 2008 was $2,249,303,843.

"We are still in the middle of a housing hurricane where foreclosure activity remains high, home prices have declined, and the number of sales transactions has fallen dramatically said Bill Staniford, CEO of PropertyShark.com. "A crisis for homeowners; a potential opportunity for investors."

Los Angeles County

Los Angeles Foreclosures: Los Angeles reached another two-year record this month with 5,982 new trustee sales, up 249% from the same month last year. The monthly aggregate lien amount from new properties scheduled for trustee sale this month passed the $2 billion threshold to also reach a two-year high.

Trouble Areas: On top of the list we continue to have zip codes from Palmdale and Lancaster. We are also seeing new trustee sales beginning to occur in wealthier neighborhoods such as Malibu, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach and West Hollywood with individual liens commonly surpassing $1,000,000.

Miami-Dade County

Miami Foreclosures: The number of new foreclosures has reached a two year peak in Miami this month. The current number (1,099) is 137% higher than a year ago (464). Compared to the previous month the number of new foreclosures increased by 20%.

Seattle (King County)

Seattle Foreclosures: There were 190 new foreclosure auctions scheduled in July 2008, up 34% from the 142 new foreclosures in June 2008, and up 157% compared to July 2007.

New York City (5 Boroughs)

New York City Foreclosures: New York City's monthly foreclosure level remains high when compared to the last few years. The July 2008 number of 338 new auctions exceeds the July 2007 number (203) by 67%, and the July 2006 (147) number by 130%. However, New York City's

foreclosure level is diminutive when compared to other cities like Los Angeles and Miami.

Borough Overview: Staten Island saw the highest monthly increase in the number of new foreclosures both compared to the previous month (86%) and to the same month last year (218%).

Although July decreased by 5% from the prior month, Queens remains responsible for most of

New York City's foreclosure activity, with single and two family dwellings being the most common property types scheduled for auction. Brooklyn reached a two-year high this month with 63 new auctions scheduled, while the Bronx had a surprising, but positive decrease of 19%. Compared to July 2007, Queens is up 82%, Brooklyn 26%, Bronx 16% and Manhattan 8%.

Real estate investors can browse current foreclosure listings for the following areas:

* Los Angeles Foreclosures (http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/Foreclosures/california/)

* Miami Foreclosures (http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/Foreclosures/index.html?lcl=fl_miamidade®ion=miami&product=Foreclosure_Auction&#region=miami&product=Foreclosure_Auction&zip_codes=)

* New York City Foreclosures (http://propertyshark.com/mason/Foreclosures/)

* San Francisco Foreclosures

* Seattle Foreclosures

Press may contact PropertyShark PR (http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/text/in_the_news.html) at PR@propertyshark.com or 718.408.4985. Press may also download all of PropertyShark.com's real estate market reports (http://www.propertyshark.com/mason/BlogCenter/).

With over 25 million properties in twenty major markets, PropertyShark.com provides real estate professionals and investors with data and tools on all aspects of property, including building details, ownership information, recent sales prices, property values and comparable sales, sophisticated maps, listings, foreclosures and pre-foreclosures, mailing lists, photos, and more, available directly from the web. PropertyShark.com strives to level the playing field by offering independent real estate firms, investors, and savvy consumers the information transparency essential to evaluate real estate and make informed decisions. For more information go to: www.propertyshark.com

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