Massachusetts Real Estate: Troubles Brewing

November 28th, 2007

The foreclosure figures for Massachusetts haven’t been too great. It is probably because of the severity of the situation that several regulators as well as politicians are now attempting to provide some measure at multiple levels so that the devastating tidal wave of foreclosures can not completely tear apart the country and worsen the situation.

In the context of Massachusetts, you may be surprised to hear that the state Legislature went to the extent of passing a bill, yes, just last Tuesday. This bill allowed borrowers who had fallen behind in their payments for 90 days to catch up. The bill seeks to also limit the fees lenders that can be charged in order to convert the adjustable rate of loan to a preferably fixed rate.

It has now been revealed that the US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would call on loan services. The call is meant to request that they would be definitely able to do something or the other to help a large number of borrowers. These are borrowers who are very much at risk because they are on the edge of defaulting.

In fact, it is estimated that about 6,258 homes in Massachusetts had been seized by lenders. This means that this particular figure is three times more than the numbers for the same time frame in the year 2006.

Each year, a new set of adjustable rate mortgages would worm their way into the real estate segment at higher rates, from one year to the next. What this means for the real estate home owner is that there would be larger payments to pay off at the end of the months, making life a melting pot of payment related difficulties for homeowners.

No doubt, most people agree that August was the month that turned out to be the worst hit for the ongoing real estate turmoil as well as foreclosure proceedings. Based on the estimates provided by a highly reliable real estate provider as well as publisher named Warren Group, there was a record figure of 1,018 properties in the month of August that was seized by lenders.

Further, it has also been stated by the Massachusetts Division of Banks that all foreclosure proceedings have been halted on about 505 of the foreclosed properties. This took place after it had opened up a hot line. However, this figure may undercount those who really lost their homes already.

Housing values in real estate continues to dip while foreclosure problems continue to soar. The market looks hit by a tidal wave as severe as the tsunami.