Analysts say that the high unemployment rate and the jobless recovery are leading to more homes continuing to be in danger of foreclosure. Many homeowners who have lost their jobs in the recession are beginning to drain their reserves and face financial difficulties since finding a new job has become so difficult.
According to information released by RealtyTrac, foreclosure paperwork has been active on over 300,000 homes each month for the past 17 months. While numbers for July were lower than those in July 2009, they were still up 4% over June’s total.
In an excerpt from a story on NPR about how the jobless recovery is affecting homeowners, Marietta Rodriguez of NeighborWorks America, a housing counseling organization, said that some bright signs in the numbers are no reason to become optimistic about the future of the housing market.
She says unemployment continues to be a problem, pushing homeowners over the edge. And there’s a new crop of loans that will reset in the next year — making the payments harder to handle.
“On the ground, our counselors are telling us they’re seeing more and more consumers, more and more borrowers seeking help — that their numbers are not decreasing,” Rodriguez adds.
And RealtyTrac’s report on the numbers said that five states account for more than half the foreclosure activity in the U.S.
California alone accounted for 21 percent of the national total in July, with 66,910 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month — down 3 percent from the previous month and down 38 percent from July 2009.
With 51,557 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, Florida accounted for 16 percent of the national total in July despite a nearly 9 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from July 2009.
Illinois foreclosure activity increased 33 percent from the previous month — the biggest monthly increase among states with top 10 foreclosure rates. A total of 19,602 Illinois properties received a foreclosure filing in July, the third highest state total and accounting for 6 percent of the national total.
Michigan accounted for just under 6 percent of the national total, with 18,833 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in July, and Arizona accounted for 5 percent of the national total, with 16,298 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in July.
Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation’s 10 highest in July were Nevada (13,727), Ohio (13,511), Georgia (12,577), Texas (11,727) and Maryland (6,961).
