Thread: California Now Leading Home Bust State

California Now Leading Home Bust State

California, the gold-rush state of early-century real estate speculation, may soon be the biggest real estate bust state, too.

California reported a whopping 31,676 foreclosures in the last three months of 2007. That’s more than twice the state’s previous record that was set in 1996 and marked a 421.2 percent increase from a year earlier.

According to Reuters, the Q4 default notices represented the highest number in more than 15 years.

Experts point to declining home values as the cause for the surge in foreclosures in the state. Declining home values led many Californians to simply abandon their homes in the last three months of 2007. Many faced paying on houses worth less than the balance on the mortgage.

"It’s getting worse,â€

This is just a result of the "Quick Buck Culture" here in California. It has caught up with a lot of people, and they are blaming everyone else but themselves.

"With rapid declines in home values, many homeowners have no choice but to abandon their domiciles when they owe more than the house is worth."

If you notice, nothing has changed. Their mortgage did not go up because the home value went down. So why can't they pay the loan they got?