My office recently released a report with some promising news for our neighborhoods and communities devastated by the mortgage foreclosure crisis. An analysis of real estate industry data showed that in 2010, new foreclosure filings in New York City were down 25 percent from the previous year.
One borough that stood out was Queens, where new foreclosure filings plunged 45 percent.
In other promising news, the last quarter of 2010 was the third straight quarterly decline in 90 day mortgage delinquencies statewide.
But there are some ominous signs on the horizon.
The share of New York State mortgages in the foreclosure process continues to grow. In the fourth quarter of 2010, 5.2 percent of all mortgages in the state were in some stage of the foreclosure process, a five-fold increase since the first inklings of the foreclosure crisis and economic recession of 2008-2009.
In 2009, five of the 10 New York City neighborhoods with the highest foreclosure filing rates were in Queens. Jamaica was the most heavily affected, with 29.9 per 1,000 households.
By 2010, with new filings down considerably from the previous year, five of the top 10 were from Brooklyn, where the highest rate was 16.8 in East New York/Starrett City.
My report also found, unsurprisingly, that the areas with the highest foreclosure filing rates were also disproportionately serviced by subprime lenders.
While the number of filings in these neighborhoods is considerably higher than historical rates, on the whole, New York City and New York State have fared better than most other parts of the country.
In 2010, New York State ranked 42nd of all states for foreclosure filings per 1,000 households. Within the state, the seven counties in the state with the highest number of foreclosure filings per 1,000 households in 2010 were all outside of New York City.
So what can be done?
We have seen how the foreclosure crisis can affect entire neighborhoods by reducing property values, shrinking the local tax base, and increasing blight and crime. My office is ready to help.
Along with this report, we have published a new brochure through my office’s Your Money New York initiative. This pamphlet sheds light on a number of federal and state resources you can use at no cost to help you understand – and possibly avoid – foreclosure.
The Your Money New York web site contains a host of useful and reliable information New Yorkers can access to learn about everything from credit cards and consumer debt to insurance and protection against identity theft.
To access the Help for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure brochure, visit:
https://www.yourmoneynewyork.com/e-pubs/tips/helpforhomeowners.pdf.
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