by Calculated Risk on 7/14/2009 03:38:00 PM

From Reuters: Obama mulls rental option for some homeowners-sources

Under one idea being discussed, delinquent homeowners would surrender ownership of their homes but would continue to live in the property for several years ... Officials are also considering whether the government should make mortgage payments on behalf of borrowers who cannot keep up with their home loans

And another surge in foreclosure activity is reported today by ForeclosureRadar:

For the third consecutive month, foreclosure sales jumped significantly as lenders come off the moratorium. Foreclosure sales increased by 24.7 percent following a 31.9 percent increase in May, and a 35 percent April increase. Notices of Trustee Sale dropped by an unexpected 28.7 percent, with the timing of the drop indicating that it was in response to the California Foreclosure Prevention Act. This law was widely believed to have little or no impact on foreclosure filings, as it exempted the majority of large lenders that operate in the state.
...
After a 4.2 percent drop the prior month, Notices of Default, the initial step in the foreclosure process, rose by 11.8 percent to the second highest level on record at 45,691 filings. Year-overyear filings increased by 10.0 percent from June of 2008.
...
A total of 22,291 foreclosures were taken to sale at auction, representing loan value of $9.57 Billion dollars; a 24.7 percent increase from the prior month, though 8.2 percent lower than the prior year. The opening bids set by lenders were an average 39.3 percent lower than the loan balance, with 46.0 percent of sales discounted by 50.0 percent or more.
...
A new statistic we are watching closely is the number of properties actively scheduled for sale – meaning that a Notice of Trustee Sale has been filed to set the auction date and time, but the foreclosure has not yet been sold or cancelled. Under California’s foreclosure code, a foreclosure sale can be postponed repeatedly for one year before a new Notice of Trustee Sale has to be filed. While postponements are quite common, they have reached record levels in recent months, swelling the number of scheduled foreclosures 90.1 percent year-over-year to 113,141.
emphasis added