Capital Region’s 138 Percent Rise is Still the Lowest

October 27th, 2008

Capital Region’s 138 Percent Rise is Still the Lowest
The Capital Region has been reported with a rise in foreclosure by 138 percent. However, this is still one of the lowest figures as compared to the rate of foreclosure nationwide. According to a data, the metropolitan area of Albany-Schenectady-Troy had about 553 properties in foreclosure during the third quarter. It was 232 an year back during the months of July and September. When compared with the foreclosure rate of the 100 metropolitan areas of the country, the Capital Region shows the 96th-lowest rate of foreclosure. The cities that have been heavily hit by this real estate crisis are Texas, Nevada, and California.

The reason behind this low rate of foreclosure is the stability in the real estate market as well as the economy of this region. Besides, this area also did not experience the dramatic rise in the value of homes as seen in other places of the country. The real estate counselors of the region have said that this rise in the number of foreclosures have been building up for over a year. The concern is that this increasing rate is not coming down. The low rate of foreclosure does not essentially mean that the people there are not concerned.

Ellie Pepper, a real estate expert, has said that she does not have any specific reason with her as to why this increase in the number of foreclosures is taking place. However, she has made the state law partly responsible for this, which says that the homeowner will be given a 90 days period before the actual proceeding starts of. The economists are of the opinion that the increasing rate of foreclosures and the depleting value of homes are mainly due to the easy accessibility of the subprime mortgages which the homebuyers took at a time to make a fast purchase of home.

These subprime mortgages were taken by those with a low income and poor credit. They are now finding it tough to make repayments. A steep inclination has been found in the number of foreclosure nationally. It has soared up by 21 percent in the month of September as compared to the figure last year during the same period. According to the attorneys of the Capital Region, the problem is prevalent among people with all types of credit and income.

Pepper has said that there are several homeowners who do not pay heed to the property taxes when they make their purchase of property. Lawyer Guy Criscione has said that a family with $120,000 annual income facing a foreclosure on their property is not an uncommon thing.