US home repossessions set record in April, foreclosures plateau at “very high ...
14 May 2010Banks in the US repossessed 92,400 homes in April, a record number and 45 percent higher than in April 2009. At the present rate, with more than 350,000 houses taken over by lenders in the first four months of 2010, more than 1 million American homes will be repossessed this year. In 2009, 918,000 repossessions took place, a 6.5 increase over the previous year. Behind these dry figures lie social dislocation and misery for millions.
One in every 45 US households was affected by at least one foreclosure filing (default notice, scheduled auction or bank repossession) last year, almost four times higher than the 2006 rate.
Driving the ongoing housing crisis are chronically high levels of unemployment. With nearly 27 million people jobless or underemployed, and wages stagnating or declining, there is no reason to expect the foreclosure and repossession epidemic to subside.
According to RealtyTrac, the total number of foreclosure filings in April declined by 9 percent over March, to 333,800, down 2 percent from April 2009. Nonetheless, April marked the 14th consecutive month with more than 300,000 foreclosure filings.
