| Isle foreclosures among lowest in U.S., despite December surge
Foreclosure filings in Hawai'i tripled in December compared to a year earlier, though the rate for the entire year remained one of the lowest nationwide. There were 130 foreclosure filings last month in the state, a 202 percent increase compared to December 2006, according to Realty Trac, a California-based real estate research firm. The firm also released national figures showing that more than 1 percent of all U.S. households were in some stage of foreclosure during the year. Declining property values in some markets, along with higher interest rates on adjustable mortgages, have led to an increase in foreclosures nationally. Some consumers can't keep up with mortgage payments and can't refinance or sell their properties. Hawai'i consumers and lenders have typically been more conservative in their financing and the foreclosure rate here was less than one-fifth of the national rate.
PAULSON WEASELS OUT OF FIXING CROOKED MORTGAGE DEALS
Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. unveiled new details of the Bush administration's mortgage-relief plan yesterday, including a proposal that would grant new powers to local governments to refinance the mortgages of struggling homeowners. . . . The worst slumps are in California, Florida, Nevada and parts of the Washington region, especially Northern Virginia, Zandi said. Most of those areas have seen at least a 7 percent decline in housing prices from the beginning of the summer, he said, adding that a 20 percent decline overall is likely by early 2009. . . . The major sticking point is the investors who buy securities made up of subprime loans. For years, they provided the financial backing that allowed mortgage firms to expand their lending. No type of loan made more money for investors, or was as risky, as subprime mortgages, because they required homeowners with shaky credit to pay more interest.
Foreclosures hitting Dane County hard
Mortgage foreclosures in Dane County leapt nearly 80 percent in 2007, matching the national increase as the local housing boom went bust and risky loans went sour. In 2007, there were 513 foreclosure sales scheduled with the Dane County Sheriff, compared to 286 in 2006, a 79.3 increase. That compares to a 79 percent nationwide increase, from 717,522 homes in 2006 to some 1.3 million in 2007, RealtyTrac, a California-based realty tracking company, reported Tuesday. Not all foreclosure lawsuits brought by lenders end in actual seizure of the property from borrowers, who sometimes manage to refinance debt or find a buyer before the property is sold out from under them. But neither are those who avoid foreclosure necessarily on sound financial footing. An 87 percent leap of foreclosure actions filed in Dane County Circuit Court over two years, from 478 in 2005 to 894 in 2007, points to an even larger portion of the community whose housing, and housing investments, are in jeopardy.
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