The foreclosure epidemic sweeping the whole country shows no signs of abating in Massachusetts. The number of Massachusetts foreclosures has been showing a constantly rising curve since 2005. While many states have shown a lower number of foreclosures this year compared to the last one, Massachusetts is definitely not one of them. In fact, the number of Massachusetts foreclosures in the Jan to April period in 2008 has been a whopping 4,161 compared to 1,650 foreclosures that were filed during the same period last year.
While there is an increase of more than 150% between the number of Massachusetts foreclosures filed in the same period from 2007 to 2008, this is nowhere compared to the whopping rise, more than 1100%, to the number of foreclosures recorded during the same period in 2006. No wonder then, Massachusetts does not rank anywhere near the bottom when it comes to states with the highest number of recorded foreclosures. Till date, almost every third homeowner has lost his or her property to foreclosure.
The main reason behind Massachusetts foreclosures being so high are definitely sub prime and adjustable rate mortgages, with many such loans being provided to people who already had a bad credit score or who were not told about how the mortgage repayment would actually work. A dismal situation indeed, but hopefully the end is in sight, with most experts predicting that the number of Massachusetts foreclosures will show a decline by the end of 2008.
The only people who can get some advantage out of this situation are investors and home buyers who currently have the resources to buy a real estate property. The extremely large amount of Massachusetts foreclosures has led to the real estate market being heavily tilted in favor of the buyer, who can not only get prime properties for as little as 50% of their market value, but also negotiate flexible loan repayment terms.
While there is an increase of more than 150% between the number of Massachusetts foreclosures filed in the same period from 2007 to 2008, this is nowhere compared to the whopping rise, more than 1100%, to the number of foreclosures recorded during the same period in 2006. No wonder then, Massachusetts does not rank anywhere near the bottom when it comes to states with the highest number of recorded foreclosures. Till date, almost every third homeowner has lost his or her property to foreclosure.
The main reason behind Massachusetts foreclosures being so high are definitely sub prime and adjustable rate mortgages, with many such loans being provided to people who already had a bad credit score or who were not told about how the mortgage repayment would actually work. A dismal situation indeed, but hopefully the end is in sight, with most experts predicting that the number of Massachusetts foreclosures will show a decline by the end of 2008.
The only people who can get some advantage out of this situation are investors and home buyers who currently have the resources to buy a real estate property. The extremely large amount of Massachusetts foreclosures has led to the real estate market being heavily tilted in favor of the buyer, who can not only get prime properties for as little as 50% of their market value, but also negotiate flexible loan repayment terms.
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