Spike in foreclosure activities seen in most US cities

Nov 7
15:57

2010

rudson tren

rudson tren

  • Share this article on Facebook
  • Share this article on Twitter
  • Share this article on Linkedin

Top metro cities in the country show a spike in foreclosure activities between July and September while other cities are also running high with their foreclosure filings.

mediaimage
Majority of US cities across the country,Spike in foreclosure activities seen in most US cities Articles with Chicago and Seattle on the lead, are high on foreclosure activities over the last few months. Nineteen out of the top 20 metro areas in the country have the highest foreclosure activity rates for the months of July and September. California, Nevada, Florida and Arizona are still taking the lead in having the most number of foreclosures in the recent months.

Said states were also the first ones to be hit by the foreclosure wave during its initial boom years, but were also the first to suffer the downturn when property values dropped and foreclosures skyrocketed to unprecedented levels.

Data shows that many metro areas in these states have significantly shown lesser foreclosure-related filings than cities in other states where there is a surge in foreclosure activity. But foreclosure postings may be spreading to other areas which were not previously affected by foreclosure problems.

This shows that high unemployment rate, lack of job opportunities and uncertainty over home prices could be causing homeowners to default on their mortgage payments. At least 122 metro areas have already posted an increase on their annual foreclosure postings in the last three months.

Out of 20 metro areas in the country, 11 registered an increase in the third quarter compared to the same period last year. In Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, one in every 129 households received a foreclosure notice, earning a sharp 71 percent annual increase from last year. Coming in close second is the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet metro area which spiked 35 percent from last year’s rate with one in every 84 households receiving a foreclosure filing.

The US high unemployment rate, which hit 9.6 percent last month, is seen to account for the Americans’ reduced income and financial woes. Many borrowers who are in deep financial trouble could barely hang on to their homes, continually leading to a ballooning inventory of foreclosed homes.

The upward trend in homes being repossessed is particularly high in Chicago, Phoenix and Miami metro areas. Bank home seizures during the last nine months have already totaled 816,000. In July-September quarter, the metro areas of Las Vegas-Paradise topped the list of high foreclosure rates with 1 out of every 25 households receiving notice of foreclosure. This figure is more than 5 times the country’s national average. Still, foreclosure postings dropped 20 percent from last year’s same period