Queens Led NYC In Foreclosures In November

Queens "looks to be the weak link" in the number of city homeowners looking at foreclosure of their homes, according to RealtyTrac, which calls itself "the nation's most comprehensive source of exclusive pre-foreclosure, auction and bank homes". The number of foreclosures in New York City rose by one-third last month from a year ago, but actually dropped from the previous month's total. Queens, however, registered 1,338 foreclosure-related documents, up 55 percent from November 2006. At one for every 622 households, this number is nearly equal to the national average of one foreclosure proceeding for every 617 households.

Some 2,848 city households, one in every 1,089, filed foreclosure-related papers in November, RealtyTrac indicated. Most filings were default notices, sent after mortgage payments had been missed. Others were auction notices or documents sent to lenders after they had repossessed homes.

There were 94 filings in Manhattan during November. Although up by 40 percent from November 2006, the figure represents just one foreclosure per 8,721 households. In Brooklyn, the number was 1,078, up 19 percent from November 2006. Filings in The Bronx rose just 1 percent, to 338, while those in Staten Island totaled 305, up by 56 percent from November 2006.

Filings nationwide numbered 201,950, up 68 percent from a year ago, but still down 10 percent from October 2007.

The lower foreclosure rate could indicate that foreclosure activity has topped out for the year. Possibly foretelling trouble to come.