Howard County Executive Ken Ulman knows the housing market has softened, and he is well aware foreclosures are everywhere, even in the wealthiest county in the state.
But what worries him is what could happen in the next couple of years.
“Are there mortgages that are going to pop at higher rates, where the foreclosure numbers will go up? Do we have this looming crisis, or is it manageable?” Ulman said recently.
To help answer those questions, Ulman is planning to convene a meeting of county officials, mortgage lenders, brokers and real estate agents. The group will likely meet early next year, he said.
The group is expected to determine how many residents have interest-only or subprime mortgages, which have been blamed in part for the housing crisis.
If Howard is getting hit or could get hit soon, then officials can come up with ways to deal with it, Ulman said.
Activist group People Acting Together in Howard (PATH) first raised the issue this fall, calling on Ulman to convene county leaders and mortgage lenders.
“Bringing the principals into a common conversation is better than just being spectators to a potential calamity for many homeowners in Howard County,” the group stated in an issue paper.
Ulman acknowledged a county meeting won?t fix the nationwide problem of increased foreclosures, but he said outreach programs may help, such as financial literacy education and housing or refinancing counseling.
Many of the interest-only loans are expected to balloon in the next couple of years, said Ilene Kessler, a Realtor with Remax Advantage in Columbia.
“I think we are going to just start to see it now,” said Kessler, a Realtor for 22 years.
“We are at the tip of the iceberg.”
However, Howard “doesn?t seem to be having any significant issues with foreclosures at all,” said Carole Maclure, president of the Maryland Realtors Association, adding subprime mortgages haven?t been flooding into Howard.
“Most of the people in Maryland in general have been extremely fortunate with their employment and prospects for making astute mortgage decisions.”
BY THE NUMBERS:
Foreclosures
Howard County
» Third-quarter 2007 (July-September): 168
» Third-quarter 2006: 55
» January-September 2007: 362
» January-September 2006: 121
» Total 2006: 181
All of Maryland
» Third-quarter 2007: 7,001
» Third-quarter 2006: 947
» January-September 2007: 12,680
» January-September 2006: 2,760
» Total 2006: 3,475
Source: RealtyTrac
