The real story of foreclosures

Everywhere you turn there's a different report tracking foreclosures. A new one is released just about everyday. The problem is they all conflict.

The same is true with bankers, Realtors and economists who weigh in on the topic.

Some say we're pretty much doomed because a tidal wave of foreclosures put off during the "robo-signing" fiasco are on their way to flood the market. Others argue that theory is over-blown because lenders know it would strip profits from their own pocket by causing home prices to bottom.

The unemployment picture is the kicker because it controls whether borrowers can afford their mortgage or not. But labor trends haven't given us a clear answer either.

(Screaming voice): What's really going on with the foreclosure picture in Southwest Florida?

Here's a few stats that might be able to help.

There were 66,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. in April, compared to 78,000 in April 2011 and 66,000 in March 2012, according to CoreLogic.

Since the start of the financial crisis in September 2008, there have been about 3.6 million completed foreclosures across the country. Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure.

Approximately 1.4 million homes, or 3.4 percent of all homes with a mortgage, were in the national foreclosure inventory as of April, down 3.5 percent from a year ago, CoreLogic said.

Florida had the highest ratio of homes in foreclosure last month at 12 percent, or 92,137 properties.

But alas, help is on the way, as another report shows.

Foreclosure sales accounted for 26 percent of all U.S. residential transactions during the first quarter — up from 22 percent in the fourth quarter and from 25 percent in the first quarter of 2011, according to RealtyTrac.

The average sales price of homes in foreclosure or owned by the bank was $161,214, the organization said.

Manatee County logged 572 foreclosure sales in quarter one, a 26 percent jump from the previous quarter and 2.5 percent rise from the first quarter of 2011.

What does all of this mean? Well, apparently foreclosures are still coming down the pike pretty strong, but there's also still a huge demand for them among buyers.

What do you think? Will foreclosures slow down any time soon? And are you getting tired of reading all of the reports yet?

For the latest stories on all things real estate check Bradenton.com regularly and follow me on Twitter @JoshSalman