In an effort to allow more time for the Streamlined Modification Program to work, Freddie Mac extended his foreclosure holiday that was scheduled to end today through the end of January. The Streamlined Loan Modification Program went into operation on December 15 and is designed to help homeowners who have missed payments stay in their homes under modified loan obligations. With short staff at the banks and holiday time off, the program has barely begun to swing into operation. What impact this will have on the Flagstaff housing market is unclear.
About ten percent of the homes currently on the market in Flagstaff are bank-owned, foreclosed properties. Several others are being offered as short-sales, which means they may be in foreclosure soon. Not all homes that are subject to foreclosure will be eligible for the Freddie Mac suspension, which was announced first in November: Mortgage Giants Suspend Foreclosures for Holidays. Whether this means simply postponing the inevitable, or some relief for the increasing back-log of unsold housing inventory is something still being debated.
The suspension of foreclosure sales and evictions applies to occupied single family and 2-4 unit properties with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages. In November, Wells Fargo and Bank of America agreed to apply the same suspension of foreclosures to homes that they held mortgages on. I have no word as to whether they plan to continue through the end of January.
Other mortgage holders have continued foreclosures through this time period and the foreclosure block has been active in Flagstaff, AZ. Generally, it takes several weeks, if not months, for homes to return to the market once the trustee sale actually takes place. I’m keeping my eye on one or two properties for particular buyer clients. These Flagstaff houses have been on the block but are not yet back for sale – in other words, they are working their way through the bank’s evaluation and listing process.
If you are a homeowner worried about foreclosure, the single most important thing you should do is talk with your lender! Read Freddie Mac’s Early Steps to Prevent Foreclosure. | 
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