Foreclosure Actions Increase in 60 Percent of ... - Clear Bankruptcy
Even though the recession has officially ended, the American economy continues to sputter along, as evidenced by the recent news that home foreclosure filings increased in three out of five major American cities.
In the first half of 2012, foreclosure actions increased in 60 percent of U.S. cities with populations of at least 200,000, according to a recent report from Bloomberg Businessweek .
All told, more than one million homes in major metropolitan areas were subject to default, auction, or repossession notices, which represents a jump of 1.5 percent from the last six months of 2011, sources say.
Home Foreclosures Rise Across the Country
Across the country, one out of every 126 households faced a possible foreclosure in the first half of 2011, according to RealtyTrac, a company that tracks real estate data.
Of the 212 cities that qualify as ?major? under the company?s formula, 125 saw an increase in foreclosure filings.
The foreclosure news was worst in Tampa, Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York City, all of which had the largest increase of filings among the top 20 most populated American cities.
Of course, not every American city saw the floodgates of foreclosure open up. Several large cities actually saw their foreclosure numbers decline, including Boston, San Diego, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, where foreclosure actions dropped by a staggering 24 percent.
But despite these pockets of success, the majority of American cities seem to be experiencing a foreclosure renaissance, which is bad news for consumers who are already weighed down by excessive debts.
Some analysts believe that the rising tide of mortgage debt could lead more filers to file for bankruptcy, which may serve as a powerful tool against home foreclosure.
Reason for Foreclosure Spree
Sources say that foreclosures took a downward turn at the end of 2011 as investigations into abusive lending practices delayed banks? efforts to seize homes across the country.
However, now that the dispute over aggressive lending practices is more or less over, sources expect foreclosures to continue rising for the foreseeable future.
The trend appears to have the most significant consequences for the state of California, which has seven of the 10 highest municipal foreclosure rates, according to sources.
And it also holds the cities with the three highest foreclosure rates in the county. These cities are Riverside, Modesto, and Stockton, which famously filed for bankruptcy this month, thanks in part to sinking revenues caused by a vast reduction in the city?s property tax base.
Source: http://www.clearbankruptcy.com/blog/foreclosure-actions-increase-in-60-percent-of-major-us-cities/
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