National Foreclosures Rise - NJ Foreclosures Dip

Perhaps this is a sign that the foreclosure mediation program is working. Or perhaps we are just behind the curve. Either way it gives us a glimmer of light at the end of the recession. From The Record we get an article titled April foreclosure filings dip in N.J. Let's take a look -

Nationally, foreclosures rose 32 percent from a year ago, as one in every 374 households received a foreclosure filing in April.

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After several states and mortgage companies put moratoriums on foreclosure actions several months ago, activity has begun to pick up again, said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, a California company that follows the foreclosure market.

In New Jersey, foreclosure filings were down 3.5 percent from April 2008. One in every 695 households received some sort of foreclosure filing last month — ranging from a notice that the homeowner is late on a mortgage payment all the way up to sale at sheriff's auction.

Passaic County had the state's highest rate of foreclosure, with one of every 461 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month.

Bergen was 15th in the state, with one of every 892 households receiving a filing; Hudson County was 18th (one in 1,023) and Morris County was 20th (one in 1,215).

The article notes that the expiration of teaser rates are one huge reason for the new wave of foreclosures. We know that option arms will be a big problem in the next few years. Remember these loans were given at the peak. And many homeowners could not afford to pay more than the teaser rate. Now their loans have increased but the value of the properties are lower. Either we will see a huge wave of short sales (ha ha) or a huge wave of foreclosures.