Recently Brooklyn foreclosure homes are in the headlines. New York city has five boroughs and Brooklyn is one. Till 1898 it was an independent city and still maintains a character of its own. Here one comes across diverse cultures, artistic vibrations and an architectural heritage that is unique. It is a most thickly populated region but unfortunately Brooklyn foreclosure homes are rising in numbers giving the place an eerie look. The empty houses are inviting crime and criminals.
Brooklyn is on the western side of Long Island bordered by Newtown Creek that flows into the East River. The question arises that why are the numbers of Brooklyn foreclosure homes rising when till the other day Uptown saw a housing boom?
Before the Brooklyn foreclosure homes began to spiral, Brooklyn too together with the entire nation was in the grip of a building frenzy. But soon Brooklyn foreclosure homes became a common feature when the sub-prime mortgage fiasco led to the bursting of the bubble. Brooklyn being the centre point of predatory lending and irresponsible borrowing soon saw Brooklyn foreclosure homes on the rise.
But it was not one-way traffic – rising number of Brooklyn foreclosure homes became a headache for the banks. Brooklyn foreclosure homes could not be easily sold at auctions. Foreclosures mean time and money consumption. Thus rise in numbers of Brooklyn foreclosure homes meant rise in headaches for the bank.
Today Brooklyn foreclosure homes are telling on New York’s economy. With the announcement by Bush that there will be a five-year freeze on some sub-prime mortgages there has been a cautious response of hope. Perhaps the number of Brooklyn foreclosure homes will fall. If some of the Brooklyn foreclosure homes can be sold the market will begin to look up. In March 2007 the foreclosure listings were slightly below 60,000. It peaked in August hovering between 75,000 and 80,000. Lately it has nudged down to a wee bit to just over 60,000. But the average sale price of Brooklyn foreclosure homes keeps on dropping sharply from being slightly above $300K in March 2007 to slightly above $200K in September 2007. In September the total number of foreclosures was 86,423 and the number of sales was 371. The average foreclosure sale price was $267,882. There are no buyers for Brooklyn foreclosure homes. The mortgage market has tightened and unless loan is available who will buy the Brooklyn foreclosure homes.
