U.S. Foreclosure Rates Soar 19.6 Percent
Nicole Holland | 11.13.06
Foreclosure rates are running rampant, and according to ForeclosureS.com, a northern California-based publisher of foreclosure property information, the Southwest is among the top states leading the pack. Fueled by the high cost of energy, rising interest rates and lenient lending, homeowners in the thousands are losing their homes.
The company released several reports today, showing that California, Texas and Colorado, three Southwest states, have some of the highest reported foreclosure numbers in the nation. ForeclosureS.com reports a 45 percent increase in California's numbers with 117,560 foreclosures up from 2005's total of 80,989 filings, making it the leader in the United States in foreclosure rankings. Texas saw an increase of 14.7 percent with 90,620 foreclosures, ranking third in the nation. And also in the Southwest, Colorado climbed the ladder with 54,959 properties in foreclosure, up 25 percent from the reported total of 43,951 in 2005.
In the aftermath of several torrential hurricanes, Florida counts 95,682 foreclosures, making it the second place seed nationally. A majority of the Southeast is also struggling--Alabama is up 102.2 percent from 2005 with 2,356 foreclosure filings. However, Virginia bucks the trend with a 27 percent decrease.
Many states in the Northeast have experienced no relief, as foreclosures in New Jersey are up 62.6 percent reporting 23,272, so far, and a whopping 122.9 percent increase in Massachusetts with 18,924 foreclosure filings. New York saw a mild decline when compared to the previous year, with 21,736 foreclosure filings to date, versus the 23,374 in 2005.
In the Midwest, job loss, credit problems and creative financing is advancing the numbers, with Illinois reporting 62,058 foreclosure filings, up 55.9 percent from 2005. Kansas reached a 72 percent upsurge with 2,137 properties in foreclosure.
"That sub-prime ARM or interest-only home loan may have seemed like the perfect solution back when the monthly payment was low, but now those payments have adjusted up. A 2 percent rate increase can double a payment overnight," said Alexis McGee, president of ForeclosureS.com. "Combine that rate shock with soaring costs of living, and the slowdown in home appreciation rates and sales, and many homeowners can't pay up and don't have enough equity to refinance or sell. Foreclosure is their only option."
Just two months shy to end the fourth quarter and already numbers have increased nationally by 19.6 percent overall with 766,058 foreclosure filings, up from 2005's 640,457 total reported numbers.
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