New Foreclosures Smash Albuquerque, Boston, Sarasota, And Cincinnati

Foreclosures which had been delayed by the robo-signing scandal and bankrutpcy overflow in some courts have hit some housing markets with a vengeance. It is yet another examples that the crisis is primarily in a few large markets. It is the problems in these market that will have to be resolved to lift their regional economies

Foreclosures in Albuquerque, already badly damaged by a drop in home prices, rose 151% from the second to third quarter this year, according to RealtyTrac. The figure was 67% in Boston, which has traditionally been a stable market. On the east and west coasts of Florida, one of the worst markets since 2007, foreclosures rose 57% in Sarasota quarter over previous quarter, 49% in Jacksonville, 44% in Palm Bay, and 44% in Fort Myers. The sections of Florida already have so many homes in inventory that it will take years to clear them. New foreclosures will depress home values in these metro areas even more.

In terms of absolute numbers of foreclosures between the second and third quarters, in Los Angeles the number was 19,488. In San Francisco, 7,254, and in Sacramento 5,421. San Diego was also among the top 10 cities with 4,979 foreclosure starts as was Fresno with 2,174. This is further proof that the largest single pocket of troubled real estate is in central California

Douglas A. McIntyre