SE Queens still struggling with foreclosures

While many parts of the nation are seeing a decrease in the number of mortgage defaults and other home loan-related distress, southeastern Queens is continuing to see its rate of foreclosures rise, according to Crain’s. The region, which has long ranked as one of the worst in the nation in foreclosures, is continuing to see the number of homeowners in distress climb. Foreclosure rates in some of southeastern Queens’ most badly hit areas climbed as much as 80 percent month-over-month in August, according to RealtyTrac data. Experts say that this is due in large part to the region’s heavy investment in sub-prime mortgages and rapidly deteriorating home values — in Jamaica, for example, home prices dropped 33 percent in the second quarter of the year. However, in other parts of the city, it’s not bad news — as The Real Deal reported, city-wide data from Realty Trac showed a recent dip in the number of foreclosure sales. [Crain’s]