Housing

Foreclosures Dip in July

Foreclosure fell in July, but only by a very modest amount compared to the previous month and July 2011, according to research firm CoreLogic.

In its National Foreclosure Report, it issued these statistics:

According to the report, there were 58,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. in July 2012 down from 69,000 in July 2011 and 62,000* in June 2012. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 3.8 million completed foreclosures across the country. Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure.

However, the problem remains intractable in regions with high unemployment and where home prices fell, in many cases, by more that 50% from 2006 peaks:

The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in July 2012 were: California (118,000), Florida (92,000), Michigan (61,000), Texas (57,000) and Georgia (54,000). These five states account for 48.1 percent of all completed foreclosures nationally.

Source: CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX) is a leading provider of consumer, financial and property information, analytics and services to business and government. The company combines public, contributory and proprietary data to develop predictive decision analytics and provide business services that bring dynamic insight and transparency to the markets it serves.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Credit Card Companies Are Doing Something Nuts

Credit card companies are at war. The biggest issuers are handing out free rewards and benefits to win the best customers.

It’s possible to find cards paying unlimited 1.5%, 2%, and even more today. That’s free money for qualified borrowers, and the type of thing that would be crazy to pass up. Those rewards can add up to thousands of dollars every year in free money, and include other benefits as well.

We’ve assembled some of the best credit cards for users today.  Don’t miss these offers because they won’t be this good forever.

 

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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