Wealthy Communities in Boston Facing Foreclosure Heat
Posted in Foreclosures, March 12th, 2010
Warren Group, a research firm based in New England, published a report that said that due to the recent increasing business failure and the job loss of the residents, home foreclosures are surging in the affluent areas of Boston. In Middlesex county, filings jumped by 23 percent over the past one year. In 2009, the increase in foreclosure filings in the Norfolk County was 33.5 percent compared to the last year.
Year over year, the increase in default notices and homes foreclosures in Greater Lowell, was 500 percent, which is higher than any other area in 2010. Dave Turcotte, who is the head of the University of Massachusetts Institute for Housing Sustainability in Lowell, opined that there are many people who are holding assets in negative equity.
In Dover, the foreclosure filings increased and reached 17 units whereas it did not feel any effect when the foreclosure problem began in the year 2008. The number was five at that time, almost one third of the current total.
In Carlisle, the filings increased by 266 percent to reach 11 units in 2009, which was the highest. In Concord, the petition rates increased to 18 units by 20 percent in 2009. In Lincoln, the petition jumped from zero in 2008 to 5 filings last year. These wealthy suburbs in the western region of Boston are affected by foreclosure.
Compared to the increasing number of wealthy suburb household foreclosures in Boston, Massachusetts foreclosure rates were observing declining rates. In the state, the filings marked a 4.4-percent drop compared to January 2009, and an overall 9 percent decrease to 1,874 filings, the lowest over the last 12 months, and a decrease from last December.
However, the foreclosure filings increased this January. The total number of foreclosed homes that was 978 in January last year is increased to 1,061 households in January this year. It was higher than the foreclosures posted in December, at 857 units. According to Warren Group, the foreclosure petitions marked the highest level in January this year, since they started keeping track of foreclosures in Massachusetts from 2006.
Turcotte is of the opinion that the minorities and immigrants are most affected with this foreclosure scenario, as they are the most vulnerable communities; that is the reason behind the excessive focus on these communities in these foreclosure studies. As an increasing number of retired residents are facing this foreclosure heat, they also came under the vulnerability list.
