NYSAR News

Foreclosures continue to rise in NY

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has reported that there are 141,934 subprime mortgages in New York State with nearly 20 percent of them in danger of foreclosure. Regional statistics released this past week reveal that, while foreclosure activity in the mid-Hudson Valley has increased in the past year, it remains well below the national rate. In Orange County, 89 homes received a foreclosure filing during March of 2008, up from 14 in March 2007. Ulster County received 33 filings, up from 31 during the same time last year and Sullivan County had 18 filings, up from 7 in 2007. The lower Hudson Valley has not fared as well. Westchester County ranked sixth in the state among the list of counties with homes in foreclosure, Rockland County ranked 13th and Putnam County ranked 20th. In the Capital Region, mortgage lenders filed 646 foreclosure notices during the first three months of 2008, up from 162 a year ago. During the first quarter of 2008, there were 174 foreclosures filed on Staten Island, up from just 34 one year ago. These figures reflect the highest per capita foreclosure rate of any of the five boroughs of New York City.


State offers help to struggling homeowners

To address the mortgage crisis, the state Legislature included $25 million for housing counseling and legal services in the 2008-09 state budget. Last year SONYMA created the "Keep the Dream" program with $100 million available for mortgage refinancing. To date, only three households in the state have refinanced through the program with just four more applications pending. A spokesman for the program called the limitations of the program a hindrance. Homeowners more than 60 days past due on mortgage payments and those with home values less than their mortgages are disqualified.

The information provided herein is from NYSAR's website @ www.nysar.com.