New data shows that the national foreclosure rate fell by more than 10 percent from July to August. Still, about one in every 1,200 homes in America is facing foreclosure. Leading those statistics is New Jersey and a few other states. This was mostly due to the increasing number of bank repossessions.
About one in every 550 homes across the state had a looming foreclosure last month. Only two states ranked higher. In addition, nearly 2,800 homes started the foreclosure process. While this is a sharp decrease from the same time last year, the shocking factor is the amount of bank repossessions. That number was up by nearly 300 percent from last year, at 1,800 in August.
Monmouth County had one of the lower rates in the state. In August, about one in every 660 homes was being foreclosed upon. The highest rate was Cumberland County, with about one in every 300 homes facing foreclosure. The most stable area, on the other hand, was Somerset County, with only about one in 950 homes foreclosed upon last month. In addition, Atlantic City has the highest rate of foreclosures among large metropolitan areas, four times the national rate, though the rate fell 5 percent from last year.
Though pundits may be saying the economy is recovering, or has recovered, homeowners in New Jersey are obviously feeling a pinch. It may be possible to delay or prevent a foreclosure by filing for bankruptcy. An experienced attorney may be able to provide more information about this and other options available.
Source: RealtyTrac, “U.S. Foreclosure Activity Decreases 6 Percent in August Following Five Consecutive Months of Annual Increases,” Daren Blomquist, Sept. 16, 2015
Secondary Source: NJ.com, “N.J. foreclosure rate again ranks among top in U.S. as repossessions spike,” Erin O’Neill, Sept. 17, 2015
