Source: http://www.foreclosuredeals.com/wp/new-yor...t-more-to-come/

New York Foreclosures Increasing Rapidly, Experts Predict More to Come

While many states have experienced huge booms in foreclosures over the past year that are now showing signs of either evening out or beginning to drop off, New York foreclosures seem to be doing the opposite. In 2006, the total amount of New York foreclosure homes was enough to make New York the state with the fifth highest foreclosure rate in the country. Many werent sure where the market was going to go from there, but in 2007, it got decidedly worse.

By late July in 2007, New York had eclipsed the total amount of foreclosed homes for all of 2006. This leads many observers and experts to predict that the problem is going to get worse in 2008. Officials have taken notice of the problem, and citing that many more adjustable rate mortgage are primed to adjust this year, many are very worried.

The problem areas, as is the case in other states, are of course centered in urban areas. New York City foreclosures, especially in the outlying boroughs, are very high for the norm, despite high property values. Albany foreclosures are a serious contributor to the states high inventory, as property values are taking a nosedive.

However, other areas of the state that are less close to the cities are feeling the crunch too. Ithaca county in the upstate region experienced an 18% increase in 2007, and the suburban Long Island county of Nassau saw a similarly high increase. Nassau, traditionally viewed as a relatively affluent area, is predicted to see just shy of 10,000 defaults or foreclosures in 2008. Officials are worried this will further drive down home values in traditionally high value areas and make the trend all that much more difficult to rebound from.

If youre interested in investing in foreclosure real estate, bank foreclosures or government foreclosures in New York, theres certainly a lot out there worth looking into. However, with so many more foreclosure houses expected to become available, its also worth waiting for the right deal to come along. The interesting thing about New York is that foreclosures are happening in these very desirable suburbs. Eventually, the market will even out, and these property foreclosures will regain their value, even though that may be a ways off.

Watching the market and looking into Brooklyn foreclosures, Brookhaven foreclosures, Hempstead foreclosures and other up and coming or traditionally in demand areas is highly recommended. These areas have great potential for value in the future, and with the foreclosure market so flooded currently, buyers are finding staggeringly low prices on foreclosure homes. Keep an eye out on areas where property values are falling the most, and be sure to judge the neighborhood and local economy when trying to predict whether those values will regain their previous levels in the future. Try to find the best balance between location and value, and investments in home foreclosures in New York could become very valuable in the coming years.

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LUMBERTON City officials hope designating Lumberton a retirement community would lure retirees to the area and boost the citys economy.

They want to capitalize on the growing number of seniors who are moving to North Carolina.

North Carolina is one of the leading states for retirees in the nation, City Manager Wayne Horne said. A lot of retirees are starting to gravitate to the mid-Atlantic region. It has created a large economic boom for areas where retirees have moved. If we attract those families to Lumberton, it would have a great economic impact.

Horne discussed promoting Lumberton as a retirement community with City Council members on Wednesday during a Policy Committee meeting.

The Lumberton Area Chamber of Commerce approached the city about the idea after learning that several states Mississippi, Texas and Kentucky have certified retirement community programs. The programs are sanctioned by the states. The states establish criteria that communities must meet to obtain the designation.

Retirees are able to obtain information about the communities from state Web sites.

The chamber wants state Sen. David Weinstein, a Lumberton Democrat, to introduce a bill that would establish a certified retirement community program in North Carolina. If the legislation passes, the chamber and the city want Lumberton to be the first to receive the designation.

The chamber provided the city more than 100 activities and local sights that could be promoted as part of the citys marketing.

The whole project is to pursue economic development for our area, said Wade Rozier, chairman of the chamber. Basically, what we are hoping to do is target markets in a sister city up North where home values are a lot more than here and try to educate some folks what a great climate we have, what a great value this area is for retirees and all of the different cultural and recreational things we have to offer. ... We are looking at putting together a marketing package for Lumberton outlining all of the benefits to the senior population.

Several chamber members have met with Weinstein and are putting together information for him to use to draft a bill, Rozier said. The organization is seeking letters of support from realtors, the medical community and educational institutions in the county.

We are talking to all of the folks who would be vested in this project of attracting seniors to this area, he said. Lumberton has sort of evolved with the exit of textiles. We are now largely a service community, and we have a lot of services senior adults want and need.

Mayor Ray Pennington sees a lot of benefits in targeting retirees people buying houses and retirees bringing their knowledge to help improve the community.

They would bring more diversity and experiences, he said.

Source: www.fayobserver.com/article?id=283841

The housing industry, caught in a maelstrom of sinking demand, rising foreclosures, and bulging inventories, is in its worst slump in decades, a growing body of economic evidence shows.

Sales of new homes fell last year by 26 percent, the steepest drop since records began in 1963, the Commerce Department said on Monday.

Last week, the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned single-family homes, a large portion of the overall housing market, suffered their biggest annual drop in 25 years. And the median price of those homes fell for the first time in at least four decades, and possibly since the Great Depression.

Some economists predict the market may start to recover in the summer. Others are less optimistic. There is no sign of a bottom in any of these data, wrote Ian Shepherdson, a London-based economist at High Frequency Economics.

Last month alone, sales of new homes tumbled 4.7 percent, to a 604,000 annual rate, the smallest monthly sales figure since February 1995.

Prices also fell sharply. In December, the median price of a new home fell to $219,200, down 10.9 percent from December 2006.

No matter which way you look at it, the December new home sales report is simply awful, wrote Dimitry Fleming, an economist at ING Bank.

December capped off a painful year for home builders, who have watched demand dry up as buyers abandon contracts or stay on the sidelines with the expectation that prices will fall further. For the year, the median price of new homes rose just 0.2 percent, to $246,900.

A wave of foreclosures and tightened lending standards have made it more difficult to obtain a mortgage, even for buyers with good credit ratings. And banks have been more reluctant to lend in light of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Builders are now trying to lure buyers by dropping prices and throwing in incentives like new appliances. They have also cut back on new construction.

But the strategy has failed to make a dent in inventories: the backlog of new homes on the market ticked up last month to 9.6 months supply based on the current sales rate, the Commerce Department said.

Sales of new homes were down in most regions of the country, with the steepest declines in the South and West. There was a slight sales uptick in the Northeast.

The Commerce Department also revised down its estimate for new home sales in November, to a 634,000 annual pace. It has originally estimated a rate of 647,000.

www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/business/28cnd-econ.html?hp