The crash continues.....and continues.....and continues

Home loan failures in San Diego County continued their steady climb in January, setting records for both foreclosures and the notices of default that are the first step in reclaiming mortgaged properties.

Real estate agent Dave Pierce says he misjudged the market and is in default on his Torrey Highlands home. "I know about a dozen people who are losing their houses," he said. The number of foreclosures in the county was 1,305, up 32 percent from December and up nearly 257 percent from January 2007. Notices of default totaled 3,109, up 21 percent from December and up 145 percent from the previous year.

The DataQuick Information Systems report yesterday also showed a narrowing gap between foreclosures and home sales. It reported 1,826 sales of new and resale homes in the county last month, compared with the 1,305 foreclosures. In contrast, there were 2,772 home sales and 366 foreclosures in January 2007.

“When sales are this low, foreclosures have a much bigger impact,” DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage said. “I don't know if we've ever been in a position like this.”