Queens, Brooklyn see ‘drastic’ rise in foreclosures
October brought a significant spike in home mortgage foreclosure rates, according to The New York Post, with more than 1,100 homes heading into foreclosure. That number represents a 32 percent increase from the previous month and a 37 percent increase from one year ago, with 400 new cases in Queens (nearly twice as many as a year ago). 365 cases were recorded in Brooklyn, a 20 percent increase, with the state overall seeing a 15 percent increase since September and 10 percent year over year, according research by Attom Data Solutions.
The continuing crisis is due in part to an increase in foreclosures on reverse mortgages and on “mortgages of homeowners shut out of the economic rebound,” sources told the Post. Though October numbers are still below the city’s peak of 3,200 new foreclosures–reached in October 2007–there is concern that the uptick will persist. New York’s foreclosure numbers are in contrast with the national trend: The overall number of US foreclosures fell eight percent year-over-year to 105,481, down for the 13th straight month.
Also noted was a shift in the market for home mortgages from banks to specialized servicers and private equity owners. The federal Home Affordable Mortgage Program (HAMP)–with income-based modifications that include interest rates as low as 2 percent–ends on December 31, and it’s unlikely that lenders will continue to offer similar opportunities.
[Via NYP]
