Update: Oreo, Dog Thrown Off Building, Was Euthanized
People Wait For Tomorrow's UWS Apple Store Opening
Cheap Chicken Wing Deal Ruined by Gunslinging Teens
FIT Students Busted For Drug Dealing Get Probation
Views From Your Windows
Don’t get too comfortable homeowners – the city’s foreclosure rate is skyrocketing, up a startling 66% in the first quarter of 2008 compared to last year, according to Crain’s and the housing research site Property Shark. Queens saw more foreclosures than the four other boroughs combined, with 508 in the first quarter, up 59% from the same period in 2007.
The Queens neighborhoods of Jamaica, Hollis and St. Albans reported the biggest foreclosure increases, due in large part to what Assemblyman Darryl Towns calls “aggressively marketed mortgages with low 'teaser' interest rates” targeted at low-income communities. In May the state assembly passed a one year moratorium on foreclosure proceedings; a similar measure backed by Governor Paterson is pending in the senate.
In Staten Island, there were 174 foreclosures in the first quarter, quadruple from the year-earlier period. While thousands of homeowners are in the process of foreclosure, in April 211 reached the final stage of the game citywide and were forced out of their homes – up from just 10 in April 2007. And anyone looking to capitalize on the trend might glean some insight into housing auctions at A Fine Blog, who recently attended one in Manhattan.
Photo of an abandoned Queens house courtesy IrishNYC.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
considering some 2.5 million people live in Queens, 508 foreclosures really doesn't seem that bad.
As the article acknowledges "the total number of foreclosures in the Big Apple was relatively low, compared to other cities. Los Angeles and Miami have nearly 10 times as many foreclosures as New York City."
I don't know where they draw the geographic boundaries for NYC, LA and Miami, but this wikipedia entry shows the population of NYC at about 8.2 million, compared with 3.8 million in LA and only 404,000 in Miami.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_population
Small numbers, big percentages: Big fucking deal.
Yawn.
Add that to the post sub-prime meltdown state and city budget cuts that haven't kicked in yet and we're in for a lot of people with out homes in NYC. Just ask a local...
What would really be informative would be a comparison with other economic slowdowns. I would assume that the first year of a slowdown/recession always sees a spike in foreclosures. Comparisons with a year ago when the economy was just barely sputtering is hardly informative. But of course, this would require the media to actually do some work and dig into the data.
I don't think that state and city budget cuts are going to impact much. First off, are there actual cuts or just decreases in projected increases?
State and city budgets are disgustingly bloated anyway. How do you think our legislatures have pools of "discretionary" money to distribute at will? Those of us in the private sector get no pensions, pay for health care, and can get laid off at any time, while those in the public sector get extra holidays, job security, pension plans that permit retirement at half pay plus full benefits after 20+ years of service. A cop can start at 20, work until 40 and then get half pay and medical for the rest of his life. Sure, if you are an investment banker, maybe you'd do better.
But for the rest of us, with life expectancy til the mid 80s, how much would you have to contribute to a 401k to be able to pay for 40+ years of half salary plus benefits? $3,000,000? More? good luck.
System is broken, and it's just a matter of time before the music stops.
I feel for these people who have lost their homes. Fixed mortgage rate is the only way to go.