Rhode Island Foreclosure Stats Rank Highest in New England

Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the country, but its foreclosure rate is keeping pace with the big guys.
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According to a special report issued by ""HousingWorks RI"":http://www.housingworksri.org, a nonprofit coalition of nearly 140 local organizations including banks, builders, Realtors, and municipal officials, through the fourth quarter of 2010 Rhode Island continued to rank highest in New England in both foreclosure starts and serious delinquencies.

Over the last two years, the study found that the foreclosure crisis has affected an average of 13,750 Rhode Island homeowners every quarter, either through foreclosure or serious delinquency. This figure translates

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into roughly one in every 10 mortgaged homeowners in the state.

The latest foreclosure market ""report from RealtyTrac"":http://www.realtytrac.com/content/foreclosure-market-report/foreclosure-activity-decreases-14-percent-in-february-6420 shows that among all 50 states, little Rhode Island had the 16th highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 741 homes there receiving a foreclosure filing during the month of February.

RealtyTrac reported that a total of 504 homes in Rhode Island were scheduled for foreclosure auction in February and lenders completed foreclosure on and repossessed 106 homes. The state’s 610 total filings represented a 61 percent increase over the previous month.

HousingWorks RI stressed ""in its report"":http://www.housingworksri.org/sites/default/files/HWRI2011SpecialReportForeclosures.pdf that every Rhode Island household and community suffers from the state’s foreclosure crisis.

The group concluded that homes within a 300-foot radius of a foreclosed property lose up to 1 percent of their value, totaling up to $5.6 billion in lost wealth for Rhode Island families over just the last two years.

The report also noted that a foreclosure creates new municipal costs for Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns â€" as much as $34,000 for a single property â€" and dramatically erodes the tax base, adding to intense pressure on municipalities to raise taxes on other property owners.