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Number Of Default Notices Jumps 72 Percent In L.A. County
(CBS) LOS ANGELES Foreclosure activity in the state rose to its highest
level since 2001 in the quarter that ended last month, with the number of
default notices sent by banks jumping 72 percent in Los Angeles County, a
real estate information service reported Wednesday.

In Orange County, there was a 101.9 percent jump in default notices sent to
homeowners over the same quarter last year, according to DataQuick
Information Systems.

It was much the same story across Southern California, with foreclosure
notices increasing 104.8 percent in the six-county region in the third
quarter, DataQuick reported. San Diego County saw a nearly 160 percent jump
in foreclosure notices over the same quarter last year, while Riverside saw
a 140 percent rise.

Across the state, lending institutions sent 26,705 default notices during
the three-month period -- second only to the 30,225 notices sent during the
first quarter of 2001.

In Los Angeles County, banks sent 5,565 default notices from July through
September, up from 3,233 sent during the third quarter last year. In Orange
County, 1,500 notices were sent, up from 743 in the same period last year.

"Foreclosures happen when people owe more on their property than the
property is worth," Marshall Prentice, president of La Jolla-based DataQuick
said. "When prices are going up fast, as they were last year and the year
before, the number of homeowners in that situation steadily declines. When
prices are flat, or going down, fewer homeowners in financial distress are
able to use their homes to bail themselves out of trouble."

The median age of the home loans that went into default last quarter was 14
months, and more than half were originated in 2005, according to DataQuick.