Foreclosures in King County spiked upward significantly last month, according to the latest report.
While the nation as a whole saw a notable drop in foreclosure filings last month, King County filings surged.
The county had 767 filings in November, up 127 percent from October and 93 percent from November 2006, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., company that tracks foreclosures.
Seattle-area foreclosures have been on the rise since the spring, said Stephen Routh, chief executive of Northwest Trustee Services, the state’s largest handler of foreclosures, because softening prices have made it harder for people to sell their homes for as much as they owe.
“These trends seem to wander up into the Northwest. The perfect storm is starting to descend on us here,” he said.
Historically, the region has lagged behind the foreclosure changes in other parts of the country, such as the Rust Belt and Sun Belt, Routh said.
…
“I would view that (surge) as an anomaly right now,” Routh said. “If it happens again next month, then I’d scratch my head maybe and try to rethink that.”
The Northwest lags behind other parts of the country in housing trends? Where have I heard that argument before? Hmm…
Meanwhile, the state government attempts to ride to the rescue in the only way they know how: spend more money.
State leaders proposed millions Monday in new spending to help house Washingtonians and keep them from losing their homes.
“Every single Washington family should be given an opportunity to have a place they call home,” Gov. Chris Gregoire said at a news conference at a White Center public housing development with legislative leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown and House Speaker Frank Chopp.
The plan includes new funds for housing agencies, mortgage education and counseling, and housing for the homeless, low-income families and victims of recent flooding.
A large part of the plan seems to be directed at homeless programs and other housing issues unrelated to mortgages or home “ownership.” Here are the interesting parts of this plan that relate to the housing and mortgage mess:
- $1.5 million for the Department of Financial Institutions to provide education and counseling to owners affected by the mortgage crisis.
- Allow mortgage prepayment penalties only until the first reset of an adjustable-rate loan.
- Ban mortgages where the balance actually increase every month and the steering of borrowers into higher-cost loans than they are eligible for.
- Require a one-page disclosure of loan fees and terms, and documentation that refinances benefit borrowers.
- Crack down on foreclosure-rescue scams.
Thankfully, I don’t see any nonsense “bailout” type of stuff going on in this plan. While the article says it will “keep [Washingtonians] from losing their homes,” it seems that the thrust of this plan is to keep people from getting into stupidly dangerous financial situations in the first place. That’s the kind of plan I can actually get behind.
Am I missing something here, or is this actually a reasonable move by the state government? I’m just so unaccustomed to such things.
(Aubrey Cohen, Seattle P-I, 12.18.2007)
(Aubrey Cohen, Seattle P-I, 12.17.2007)