Foreclosures Triple In Rhode Island

May 28th, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosures

During the first quarter the foreclosures in Rhode Island nearly tripled as the mortgage rates reset to higher notches. With falling house prices the borrowers could neither sell nor modify. Foreclosures became inevitable. During the first three months of 2008, 1,060 houses were notified to be sold at auctions. It was a spike of 282% from the previous year, according to data collected from Rhode Island Housing. However it should be noted that not all the houses finally made it to the court auctions.

Across the state the average price of single-family units in February dropped by 4.7% to $245,000. The maximum drop during this month had been in 1995. The prices of houses have been tumbling for the last consecutive eleven months.

In 20 metropolitan regions of USA, the prices of property fell by 10.7% from what it was a year ago. This is the 13th consecutive month of decline. According to USA Census Bureau a record number of 18.6 million houses stood vacant and empty – posing a threat to society, economy and health.

The attempts by the government in tandem with lenders is just postponing matter and not getting to the root of the crisis. It is just extending the time the market takes to recover itself commented James Saccacio of RealtyTrac an online data collecting firm.

On Rhode Island 3,000 units had been posted for foreclosure listings from March ‘07 to March ’08. 79% of these houses were in the cities and adjacent suburbs. Providence, East Providence, Cranston, Warwick and Johnston registered 1,543 foreclosure listings. This was 52% of the total.

Foreclosures are spreading to the outer suburbs and rural areas. In Burrillville there were 79 foreclosure auction notifications during this period of 12 months. In Coventry there were 56 notices. Even rich neighbourhoods were affected with Barrington registering 16 and 8 in East Greenwich, according to Rhode Island Housing data.

Across the country 650,000 units were in some stage of foreclosure during the first three months. It meant a foreclosure rate of 1:194, according to RealtyTrac. The worst affected states were Nevada, Florida, California and Arizona. The greatest concentration was in Stockton, California.

Rhode Island showed 1,581 foreclosure postings with a rate calculating to 1:284 according to RealtyTrac. This was 1,061 noted by Rhode Island Housing.

The foreclosure situation continues to be grim with no light at the end of tunnel unless sales pick up.