While the nation’s housing market continues to get battered, Big Apple homeowners continue to hold their own as Big Apple foreclosures grew at a much slower rate than the rest of the country.
In the five boroughs, 1,849 city families entered the foreclosure process last month, 10 percent more than in September of 2006, but down from the 2,904 who filed in August.
Nationally, foreclosure filings jumped 99 percent, to 223,947, compared to last September.
All five boroughs showed month-to-month drops in new filings, according to statistics released by RealtyTrac.
“It’s too early to tell if September’s numbers represent a one-month lull, or if they could signify that more buyers and investors are getting back in the market and snatching up discounted foreclosure properties, thereby providing a release valve for distressed homeowners and overwhelmed lenders,” said James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, which follows foreclosures throughout the country.
Locally, state Sen. Jeff Klein (D-Bronx) says some of the lenders are now reaching out to do workouts with borrowers. “I’m all for having legislation in the future to make sure this doesn’t happen again but we need to help people now,” Klein said.
