A number of news outlets reported today that the foreclosure rate had dropped in their respective regions.
- According to the Star-Ledger, New Jersey foreclosures were down 30 percent in the first six months of 2009
- In South Florida, the Miami Herald reported foreclosures were cut in half from May to June.
- The Austin-Business Journal reports foreclosures are at a 5 month low in Austin, TX.
This news comes against RealtyTrac’s report that the national foreclosure rate rose from May to June by 4.57%. Two of the articles above are careful to point out that the drop doesn’t guarantee things are getting better. Numbers are still way up over a year ago and agencies and lenders alike are overwhelmed by requests for help.
There is also the possibility that loan modification efforts have at least curtailed some foreclosures. However, lenders participating in the Making Home Affordable plan have been slow to fully embrace loan modification efforts and more will be required of them in the coming months to stem the tide of foreclosures.
Regardless of whether or not some regions are seeing a decrease in foreclosure activity, more adjustable rate mortgages are scheduled to reset in the coming year and there is no shortage of homeowners that are going to be facing the difficult situation of paying a mortgage they can’t afford.
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