NJ Numbers

RealtyTrac has their September numbers out and the news is not good. We have entered the top ten - shot up from 11 to 8. Bad, bad news. The Star Ledger summarizes the report in an article titled N.J. foreclosure filings rose 48 percent in September. Lets take a look -

Foreclosure filings in New Jersey rose 48 percent in September compared to a year ago, or more than twice as fast as the national average, according to the latest tracking data.

The state had 7,658 filings -- default notices, scheduled sheriff's auctions or bank repossessions -- during the month, or a rate of one for every 453 households, the real estate data firm RealtyTrac found. That's an 18 percent jump from August, and a 48 percent jump from Sept. 2007.

For the first time since the onset of the housing slump, New Jersey's foreclosure filing rate exceeds the national average, which was one in every 475 households in September, Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac said. In August, the state's rate was one in 536 homes.

Newark, Camden and Edison all made the top 100 list of U.S. metropolitan areas with the highest filing rates.

The new rate of 1 in 453 tells that troubles are brewing. While not all of the filings end in foreclosure, it still is very bad news. As jobs are cuts these numbers will rise.

Here is the top ten list from RealtyTrac -
1. Nevada - 1 in 82
2. Florida - 1 in 178
3. California - 1 in 189
4. Arizona - 1 in 201
5. Georgia - 1 in 417
6. Michigan - 1 in 428
7. Ohio - 1 in 440
8. New Jersey - 1 in 453
9. Indiana - 1 in 480
10. Colorado - 1 in 482

Notice the cluster n the 5-10 range. Those six slots are going to shuffle around a lot, with the 11, 12 and 13 positions close by at 1 in 505 (Virginia), 1 in 510 (Illinois), and 1 in 516 (Utah)