One out of every 17 homes within Ohio's three largest cities has been reported as a foreclosure since the beginning of 2009. That's a rate equal to more than one home falling into foreclosure for every city block, according to the nonprofit community advocacy group ""National People's Action"":http://www.npa-us.org (NPA).
[IMAGE]
The organization conducted a 27-month long study of the effects of the foreclosure crisis on Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus. The ""results, released this week"":http://showdowninamerica.org/files/Foreclosing_On_Ohio_Cleveland_Cincinnait_and_Columbus_NPA_report_May_2011.pdf, show that while the Buckeye State has not posted the shear volumes of foreclosures as the boom-and-bust epicenters of such states as California, Nevada, Arizona, and Florida, the cumulative impact of foreclosures have weighed heavily on Ohio's housing market and its economy.
Based on first-quarter foreclosure activity, ""RealtyTrac"":http://www.realtytrac.com/content/press-releases/foreclosure-activity-decreases-15-percent-in-q1-2011-6521 ranked Ohio 9th highest in the nation in terms of total foreclosure activity and third highest in the Midwest behind the struggling economies of Michigan and Illinois.
NPA says the fact is, Ohio's foreclosure crisis started early and the state now has endured elevated levels of home foreclosure for over half a decade. In 2006, Ohio experienced a sizable 23.6 percent increase in annual home foreclosure filings, and the group says the number of
[COLUMN_BREAK]filings have continued at a historically-high rate of over 80,000 per year.
NPA says sustained, high rates of home foreclosure have negatively impacted Ohio's housing market and home values and have contributed to high rates of unemployment and housing vacancy.
The organization reports Ohio's unemployment rate rose 6.5 percentage points between 2000 and 2010, with 80 percent of the rise occurring since 2006 in the economic fallout from the mortgage crisis. Ohio's housing vacancy rate increased 3.1 percentage points during the last decade and now exceeds 10 percent of all housing units, according to NPA's report.
In 2010, almost one quarter of all home sales in Ohio occurred on foreclosed properties. NPA explained that with an average residential foreclosure sales price under $80,000, or 52 percent of the price of non-foreclosure home sales, Ohio's foreclosed properties have the lowest relative prices in the country.
According to the study, foreclosure sales prices in the three-city study area are even lower, with foreclosures in Cleveland selling for an average of $35,000 and for $70,000 in Cincinnati and Columbus.
NPA found since 2009, foreclosures have resulted in an estimated total loss of $1.6 billion in home property values for homeowners in Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus.
The near-term costs of foreclosures to local government in the tri-city study area from 2009 through 2012 include an estimated $7.8 million in direct expenses to deal with foreclosure-related vacancies and $30 million in lost property tax revenue due to foreclosure-related property abandonment, according to the non-profit's study.
NPA's full report on the foreclosure crisis in Ohio can be ""accessed online"":http://showdowninamerica.org/files/Foreclosing_On_Ohio_Cleveland_Cincinnait_and_Columbus_NPA_report_May_2011.pdf.