Foreclosure Home Listings in Staten Island Dropped in 2010

Posted on January 19th, 2011 in Foreclosure Crisis

For 2010, the number of filings for foreclosure home listings fell in Staten Island, New York. However, market analysts have asserted that the drop in filings compared with 2009 is a misleading development and in no way signifies that the housing industry crisis is over for the island and the whole state.

The number of properties under foreclosure listings in Staten Island and the number of homes that received foreclosure-related filings in 2010 dropped by 22% compared with the previous year. A total of 1,846 filings were posted in the area, down from the 2009 total of 2,361. Defense lawyers and industry observers, however, cautioned that in 2011, foreclosure numbers will start rising again as lenders and their attorneys continue where they left off.

They added that the number of homeowners who are not paying their loans has not gone down and is practically the same number as the one recorded half a year ago. Analysts explained that the drop is partly due to banks being more cautious in issuing filings for New York foreclosure listings following the documentation controversy that grabbed the headlines in the last quarter of 2010.

As a result of the controversy, judges in the region have become more vigorous in requiring lenders' lawyers to present documentation proving that their clients are the owners of the mortgage and that there is enough legal reason to issue a foreclosure home listings filing. The stricter rules that were put in place following allegations that lenders are using faulty affidavits in their foreclosure filings resulted in a huge decrease in December 2010 filings for the borough.

In December of last year, Staten Island posted a 65% decline in total number of filings compared with December 2009. The drop in the number of foreclosure filings and repossessed homes was also felt in New York areas that traditionally have high foreclosure volumes like Suffolk County, Brooklyn and Queens. Analysts stated that the decline in the last part of 2010 is only a temporary lull.

Most housing experts expect the number of properties entering foreclosure home listings to surge back up in 2011 as lenders and their lawyers become more used to the tighter rules. Those foreclosures that were put on hold due to the controversy are also likely to come into play in 2011, analysts added.

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