Williamson, Travis see foreclosures accelerate

AMERICAN-STATESMAN ^ | September 24, 2003 | R. Michelle Breyer

[traumer]

Williamson, Travis see foreclosures accelerate Weak job market, credit card debt weighing down homeowners, analyst says

By R. Michelle Breyer

AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Wednesday, September 24, 2003

The number of properties posted for foreclosure for the October auction in Travis County jumped 68 percent compared with the previous year, a sign that job losses continue to take their toll on the area's economy.

In Williamson County, the 1,088 postings in the first 10 months of this year are a 72.4 percent increase compared with the same period in 2002, according to Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service.

Travis County postings for the October auction jumped to 365 after dropping in the previous month. In Williamson County, 238 properties were posted for the Oct. 7 sale -- up 135 percent from the same month a year ago, and the highest level in more than a dozen years.

Postings in counties throughout Central Texas are at their highest levels since the bust of the 1980s.

"We're at very unhealthy levels in terms of postings," said George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service. "It's about two things: jobs and extremely high credit card debt. It's really a bad situation, and there's not a great reason for it to get better over the next one or two quarters."

Continuing a trend that has emerged during the past year, several expensive houses in affluent neighborhoods such as Barton Creek, River Place and Highland Hills and an abundance of homes bought during the past four years are up for auction.

Also on the list are 204 acres near Wells Branch with a loan amount of $17.4 million and 248 acres near Lake Travis with a loan amount of $5.6 million.

The vast majority of postings are for single-family homes, but commercial postings are rising. Six commercial properties, valued at $6.9 million, and 15 apartment complexes are posted for the October sale.

From Minnesota to South Carolina to California, foreclosures have risen significantly this year as job cuts continued and consumer debt kept rising.

"Despite a very healthy housing market in most of the country, the overall economy remained weak, though growing, in the second quarter," said Doug Duncan, senior vice president of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

"The trends of record consumer bankruptcies and significant job losses, along with war-related business uncertainties and related rising energy prices, prevented a robust improvement in the performance of the mortgage portfolio," Duncan said.

The percentage of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments increased from 4.52 percent in the first quarter to 4.62 percent in the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. In the subprime category, which serves consumers with lower credit scores, mortgage defaults rose to 12.99 percent from 12.4 percent.

The rise in delinquencies is a sign that foreclosures are likely to rise in the coming months.

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

jobloss recovery bump!

[harpseal]

Ping
On or off this list let me know.

[clamper1797]

Jobless recovery ... MY ASS

More like smoke and mirrors recovery ...

Out of work for 6 weeks now ... starting to feel like a friggin depression to me.

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

If it was just a non-recovery without jobs it would be bad enough, but this is a non-recovery that is hemorrhaging jobs.
It is a jobLOSS non-recovery.

[BushisTheMan]

To me, this says more about people who buy beyond their means, the .com craze that hit the tech market in Austin, the overspending and not budgeting, and high real estate and other taxes and it just might include the high prices home owners have to pay for insurance after insurance companies started charing through the roof because of some home owners who started suing for mold coverage.

[af_vet_rr]

I don't know how much of that is due to credit card debt, but this just reinforces my belief (old fashioned that it maybe) that credit cards can be one of the worst things a person can have (or rather credit cards plus poor judgement)

[AdamSelene235]

... starting to feel like a friggin depression to me.

No that won't start for at least another year.

[unixfox]

Funny, nothing in this report about how many hi-tech jobs have been exported to places like India and Mexico. Austin used to be a hi-tech hub, but not anymore.

[clamper1797]

Well ... I figure that I have 4-5 months till I go into foreclosure ... It's so funny ... 5 degrees , 12 years in college and 25 years designing things like most of the computers in the military aircraft that flew in Irag and the computer in the Galileo space mission and I'm asking my friend if I can pound nails with him at $10 an hour so I can eat. Thank God for such a grateful America and especially the free friggin TRAITORS that gave our jobs to foreigners ... (PRAY I don't meet you on the street cause I WILL break your treasonist face as I have nothing to lose thanks to you) ... Also hope my high tech trained 52 year old back holds up to manual labor.

[clamper1797]

That's treasonous .... I don't spell well while I'm dead broke

[clamper1797]

Iraq ....

[clamper1797]

One last thing to put it all into perspective ... the thanks I'm getting now for all my 25 years hard work for this country is basically the same thank you I got when I returned from Vietnam ... and apparently from the same hate America A_holes disguised as free TRAITORS