In Washington State Foreclosures Increased But Still Outperformed The National Average
The news out of Washington State shows an increasing number of foreclosure filings, but when compared against the average nationally the state is holding its own. In fact the percentage gap seems to be widening when compared to other states. While foreclosures were up 22 percent over the same time last year Washington State ranked 49th for foreclosures.
What happened here to alleviate the same foreclosure dilemma gripping the rest of the country?
The likely cause is the percentage of sub-prime loans is much lower in Washington State than the national average, coming in at 15 percent and 21 percent respectively. Even with the smaller percentages the state still saw adjustable rate loan delinquencies up 22 percent higher over year while foreclosures rose to over 78 percent.
Has WashingtonState avoided the worst of the foreclosure crisis?
There is still the very real problem where thousands of homeowners trying to stop foreclosure in Washington State have fewer and fewer options to choose from. This can be directly linked to the predatory tactics used by sub-prime lenders during the real estate heyday.
Some Washington State homeowners were suddenly seeing their property values shoot upwards of 40, 50, even 100 percent or better over a relatively short amount of time. In some cases homes gained tens of thousands of dollars, or more, in equity. For many this occurred in a few short months. Couple this with the greed of a few lenders and you had the groundwork for a catastrophe. This scenario proved far too tempting for both homeowners and some lenders.
It was suddenly too easy for homeowners to plunder this newly found source of cash. Unfortunately few, if any, lenders practiced the proper due diligence in qualifying prospective lenders. At one point it seemed all a borrower had to prove was they were upright and taking nourishment. Granted this a tongue in cheek comment, but lending rules were loose and fast during this time period. Those homeowners who drained every last dime from the equity in their homes are now facing the reality of their poor planning. Now thousands of homeowners are looking for help to stop or avoid foreclosure.
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.