The Foreclosure Report

A Trio Of State Default Reports

Some foreclosure news from three states. "More Bay State homeowners are behind in their mortgages than at any point since 2003, while loan-foreclosure rates remain at an eight-year high. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported yesterday that 3.68 percent of Massachusetts borrowers fell at least 30 days behind on the mortgage in the fourth quarter."

"The MBA also said banks began foreclosure, the process of seizing a home for mortgage non-payment, against 0.28 percent of Bay State borrowers. That ties the third quarter’s home-seizure rate, when foreclosures reached their highest levels since 1997."

"MBA Chief Economist Doug Duncan said borrower woes include rising interest rates on mortgages and credit cards, as well as greater use of risky adjustable-rate and interest-only loans."

"Indiana led the nation with the highest rate of mortgage foreclosures for the final three months of 2005, according to the MBA. Nearly 1 percent of all Indiana mortgages tipped into foreclosure for the quarter, topping No. 2 Ohio and No. 3 Michigan.
Indiana trailed only Ohio in the percentage of mortgages delinquent 90 days or more."

In Texas. "Foreclosures are down 11.9 percent in Tarrant County for the April auction but are up more than 5 percent for 2006. George Roddy said he didn't expect the numbers to keep dropping. 'I wouldn't read into the downturn very much,' Roddy said. 'It's certainly encouraging not to see an elevation, but the negative numbers might be short-lived.'"

"The figures for the first four months of the year are more sobering. There have been 3,825 homes posted so far this year, up 5.2 percent from a year ago. Foreclosures have grown dramatically in recent years, propelled by job losses, underemployment and people overextending their credit. The average number of Tarrant County homes posted per month was 866 in 2005."

"The average number of monthly foreclosures in Tarrant County has steadily risen in recent years."

2000: 365

2001: 448

2002: 559

2003: 728

2004: 826

posted by Ben Jones @ 1:09 PM