Should We Be Worried That Foreclosure Sales Are Near Recession Levels?
Reports last week that the number of home foreclosures in New York City had returned to levels last seen at the onset of the Great Recession left many housing experts scratching their heads.
Economic indicators suggest the opposite should be happening. The city's unemployment rate has been trending down since 2008 and is now just under 4%. Housing prices continue to rise, and area banks are lending to homebuyers. Federal data show that Ridgewood, Maspeth and Flushing savings banks together made $3.5 billion worth of loans for one- to four-family homes as of the second quarter of this year, a 4% increase over last year. Late payments on such loans, a bellwether for mortgages at risk of foreclosure, fell by about 1% over the same time period. . .