Jurisdictions across the metro area faced wildly different foreclosure situations as another round of rate adjustments hit the holders of variable mortgages.
In Prince William, already hard hit by the foreclosure crisis, the number of filings rose 14.68 percent last month jumping from 1,328 filings in May to 1,523 filings in June. Data from Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, a Web-based foreclosure listing company, show Prince William continued to have the highest foreclosure rate in Virginia, with one out of every 86 households facing foreclosure filings. In comparison, the national rate was one out of every 501 households in June.
“People think this is the last big hit” in the further-out areas, said Donna Evers, president and broker of Evers & Company Real Estate, as the last of the big adjustments from the teaser rate on adjustable mortgages just took place.
Loudoun County, however, gained exactly one more foreclosure filing from May, for a 0.20 percent change. Even so, it remained the county with the second highest foreclosure rate in Virginia, with one out of every 199 households in foreclosure. Fairfax County also remained relatively stable, with only a 2.04 percent increase in filings.
Prince George’s County had a 28.95 percent spike in filings, boosting the county to the top spot in the state for highest foreclosure rate from sixth place in May. But foreclosures in neighboring Montgomery County plummeted by 46.87 percent, and the county, which had ranked seventh place for highest foreclosure rate in May, was 13th highest in June.
Closer in foreclosure filings climbed 7.35 percent in Alexandria and dipped 6.25 percent in Arlington.
The District saw an increase in filings of 33.08 percent, from 390 filings to 519 filings.
Overall, in Maryland, foreclosures dropped 23.27 while Virginia saw an 8.87 percent jump in the number of filings.
There is a “gas price shock” that is hitting the market, said Prof. Tony Yezer, director of the Center for Economic Research at George Washington University. Areas closer in to the Beltway and areas close to mass transit, which have fewer foreclosures to begin with, are going to be helped even further, but this won’t make up for the rise in foreclosures outside the Beltway, he said.
