New York Foreclosure Activity Increased in Second Quarter

 

The New York State Banking Department and RealtyTrac® released New York county- level foreclosure statistics for the second quarter ending June 30, 2009. According to RealtyTrac there were foreclosure filings on 13,664 properties in New York during the second quarter, representing a 15 percent decrease compared to the second quarter of last year and a 24 percent increase over the previous quarter. While the decrease year over year compares favorably to the national 20 percent increase, the 24 percent increase over the previous quarter is well above the national increase of 11 percent. Still, New York’s overall ranking continued to improve, dropping from 37th at the end of the first quarter to 39th. Orange County, with 643 foreclosure filings in the second quarter, had an increase of more than 61 percent from the first quarter of 2009. It also had the highest ratio of filings in the state, with one in 208 households with a foreclosure filing in the second quarter. Nearby Rockland and Putnam were also in top five counties based on the ratio of households impacted, with one in 264 and one in 272 homes with a foreclosure filing in the second quarter of 2009. The three counties, home to many New York City commuters, represent the spread of foreclosures outside of the immediate metro areas. “Quarterly increase trends, such as the ones we are seeing in Orange County, are a strong reminder that the crisis is not over and we must continue to find sustainable, affordable ways to keep families in their homes,” said Richard H. Neiman, Superintendent of Banks for New York. “Without solutions that continue to build on the state’s foreclosure prevention efforts, such as those proposed by Governor Paterson last month, New York may see those numbers increase year to year as well.”