November NJ Foreclosure Numbers

Up again in year-to-year numbers. While there appears to be no evidence that foreclosure moratoriums stop the avalanche, it is evident that something should try something. Perhaps the state's best and brightest could be thinking of new and innovative approaches rather than the same non-working, non-solutions that have failed in other areas. Now onto the numbers from The Record's article titled Foreclosure actions rose 32 percent last month. Lets take a look -

Foreclosure actions in New Jersey rose 32 percent in November from November 2007, RealtyTrac said Wednesday.

One in every 622 households in the Garden State was in some stage of the foreclosure process, ranging from a default notice filed by the lender all the way through to sale of the property at sheriff's auction, according to the company, which tracks foreclosed properties nationwide.

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New Jersey non-profits that offer housing counseling have reported a big jump in the number of calls from homeowners in distress. In Bergen County, one in every 1,081 households was in some state of the foreclosure process, compared with one in 439 in Passaic, one in 1,207 in Morris and 1 in 985 in Hudson.

Nationally, foreclosure actions were up 28 percent from a year ago. James Saccaccio, RealtyTrac CEO, predicted a "foreclosure storm" in the coming months because of a recent jump in loan delinquencies.

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Last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that about 10 percent of homeowners with mortgages nationwide — and about 9.2 percent in New Jersey — were either in foreclosure or delinquent on their payments. The mortgage bankers' chief economist, Jay Brinkmann, predicted a continued high rate of foreclosures in 2009 because of a deteriorating job market.

The numbers will continue to rise for some time. And due to the adverse nature of the housing relationship - as the foreclosure numbers rise the value of properties will continue to fall. Another point to remember that for each owner that is foreclosed will be out of the house buying pool for several due to credit issues. That makes the potential buyer pool even smaller.

As for the non-listed counties - Essex County is 1 in 266, Union in 1 in 406, Salem 1 in 413 and Cumberland 1 in 434. The lowest county is Hunterdon with 1 in every 1,672.

For November New Jersey is ranked No. 15 in foreclosure activity. Here are the states with the highest foreclosure levels for November from ReatlyTrac -

1. Nevada - 1 in 76
2. Florida - 1 in 173
3. Arizona - 1 in 198
4. California - 1 in 218
5. Michigan - 1 in 309
6. Georgia - 1 in 387
7. Ohio - 1 in 392
8. Colorado - 1 in 393
9. Utah - 1 in 450
10. Idaho - 1 in 479