Maryland Real Estate Buyers Turning to Foreclosure Market

Maryland has always been an attractive state for people looking to buy property to settle in with their families or for investors looking for profitable real estate to buy up, and now it seems they're finding a new way to get their hands on discount properties. Foreclosures in Maryland have always been a way for people to find great deals on real estate, but in the past they were often restricted to savvy real estate experts and investment professionals, largely because they simply are not advertised through traditional means. But now that foreclosure homes have been all over the national news due to a huge surge in their numbers within the past few years, people are becoming interested in the opportunity to buy them, and rightfully so.

Foreclosures are unique because they are sold through special auctions and lender sales unlike traditional real estate, and often for incredible below market prices. Since they are sold as the result of a homeowner's default, the lender only needs to collect a portion of their value to cover the debt owed. Therefore, most foreclosed homes in Maryland end up going for anywhere between 10 and 50% below what they normally would on the open market. These kinds of savings are attractive to everyone, especially since good values are so hard to find in the current market in Maryland, which has property values at lows.
Searching foreclosure listings has become more popular as well, as interested buyers can simply sign online to find Maryland foreclosures services dedicated to helping them find homes for sale. Look for foreclosed homes sales in Maryland to increase during 2008, and for more people to buy them.

The Foreclosure Epidemic Hits New Jersey

In the last quarter of 2007, the rate of foreclosure homes in NJ was a record high and the brunt of it was being taken by the homeowners. More and more borrowers had started to sink deeper under the overwhelming weight of their mortgage debts and that too in a weakened economy. As a result of this, lenders had to send notices to several homeowners and many found themselves suddenly stranded without a home.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association in New Jersey, there was a rise in the number of new houses foreclosure by 0.68%, which is considered to be the highest percentage change in New Jersey since 1979. One of the reasons being that borrowers or homeowners had taken loans to buy real estate property at inflated prices. As a result, they were unable to sustain themselves and couldn’t avoid the foreclosure wave.

According to the chief economist of Cherry Hill-based Commerce Bancorp, Joel Naroff: the people who had bought homes within the period of 2005-06 had no other options but to stretch and unfortunately they had to stretch quite a lot. The maximum impact of foreclosures by state was seen in North Jersey with Passaic County being at the top. January 2008 saw filings for 714 home foreclosures in the county, which is a huge jump from 227 filings in January 2007. Bergen County followed at the second place recording 276 foreclosure filings in January 2008, which is more than the 138 recorded in January 2007.

The most obvious reason contributing to the high number of foreclosed homes in New Jersey is the adjustable-rate mortgages, which are still being preferred over other mortgages

Maryland Foreclosures on the Decline

In fact, Maryland homeowners can take respite from the fact that the foreclosed homes average here is better than most of the other states and cities and even better than the overall national average. The most disturbing situation that can be seen across the country is of homeowners struggling to make payments for their adjustable mortgages. In the last quarter of 2008, the rate of tax foreclosure homes across the country soared to the highest level seen in almost three decades. Foreclosure homes in Maryland on the other hand did not rise too high as most of the other states.

There were only a few bigger states that felt the direct brunt of the impending credit crisis, which pushed more foreclosures in the latter half of 2007 and spiked the rate of foreclosed homes by 0.65% percent. Most of the residential loans were considered to be delinquent and almost all of them were 3 or more months past due date. The delinquency of residential loans jumped by 5% as the nation saw 44 million loans being taken by homeowners.

The situation was much better in Maryland where the impact of foreclosures by state was less severe and there was a much lower rate for the mortgages that went into foreclosure. The rate was only 0.36%. There were around 1 million loans that were taken by homeowners across the state and almost 3,750 homeowners were sent foreclosure notices in the 2nd quarter itself according to the bankers association. The only matter of concern is that eve though the percentage of foreclosures in Maryland is small but it is rising rapidly. The question is: will it keep on rising rapidly through 2008 or will there be some respite for homeowners?