What’s new: Foreclosure filings in New Jersey rose 33 percent in the first quarter of 2010, compared with the same period in 2009, according to RealtyTrac, a California company that follows the foreclosure market.
Nationally, foreclosure filings were up 16 percent in the same time span.
What it means: The housing market’s distress is not over, despite government efforts to encourage lenders to make loans more affordable for struggling homeowners.
How lenders are responding: In New Jersey, 33,612 mortgages are being modified through the federal Making Home Affordable Program; most of these modifications are trial runs. Nationally, more than 1 million loans are in the modification program.
Where foreclosures are most severe: Nevada, Arizona, Florida and California.
What they’re saying:
"Lenders are starting to make a dent in the backlog of distressed inventory that has built up over the last year as foreclosure prevention programs and processing delays slowed down the normal foreclosure timeline." — James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer, RealtyTrac
"A lot of people who had adjustable mortgages, some of those [higher interest rates] are now starting to kick in … We have clients who have been through three three-month trial modifications, and probably at the end of the day, they will end up losing their homes." — Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, head of N.J. Citizen Action, which offers housing counseling
housing units
U.S. 1/138
N.J. 1/226
California 1/62
Nevada 1/33
Florida 1/57
— Kathleen Lynn
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