FORECLOSURES UP IN COLUMBIA COUNTY; AREA STILL FARES BETTER THAN STATE AND NATION

Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News

07-22-10 - The number of foreclosures in Columbia County tied a 12-month high last month, according to a national tracking firm, but overall, the county has fared much better than the state and nation.

There were 10 foreclosures in the county in June, the most since 10 were also foreclosed in July of 2009 – the height of the economic downturn. Six of the new foreclosed properties lie in the city of Hudson. Overall, RealyTrac reports that there are currently 29 homes in foreclosure proceedings in the county.

For comparison sake, there were six properties foreclosed on in June in neighboring Greene County, well below the 12-month high of 14 that were foreclosed on in September of 2009. In Rensselaer County, there were 24 homes foreclosed on in the county in June and in Dutchess County there were 92, neither of which represented highs for the past year.

Overall foreclosures in Columbia County remain half of the state-wide average, with only 0.03 percent of the properties in the county in foreclosure, compared to the statewide average of 0.06 percent and the national average of 0.24 percent. Across the state, 1 in every 326 housing units were in foreclosure, as compared to 1 in 2,285 units in Columbia County.

Across the country, one of every 78 U.S. housing units, or 1.28 percent, was subject to at least one foreclosure filing in the first six months of the year, according to RealtyTrac.  Foreclosure filings include default notices, auction-sale notices and bank repossessions.

John “Jack” Connor, a Hudson attorney who handles among other things, real estate law, said that even with the June spike in foreclosures, Columbia County has largely avoided the foreclosure crisis.  “It’s a lot worse south of here. The whole foreclosure epidemic has pretty much passed us here,” he said.  Connor said a major reason for the lack of foreclosures in the county is an apparent lack of interest by those making purchases in the county in sub-prime mortgages.  “You didn’t see them around here, much,” he said, adding that the county’s home prices also never declined significantly, which could have triggered interest in those who wanted to buy a home, but couldn’t afford the market.  ‘The prices never sunk as low as we saw in other places,” said Connors.

County Treasurer Ken Wilber earlier this year told ccSCOOP that his office has not seen an increase in foreclosure sales for taxes – which typically is the last step for foreclosures. Traditionally, houses are foreclosed on for mortgages or other debt before the county pursues a home for failure to pay property taxes.  “We typically see one or so a year. That hasn’t changed, even with the economy,” he said.