Hawaii falls to No. 28 in national foreclosures
POSTED: Thursday, December 11, 2008
Hawaii foreclosures skyrocketed nearly 248 percent in November -the fifth consecutive triple-digit increase since July.
While Hawaii recorded 393 total foreclosure filings, or one in every 1,272 households, it fell two points to No. 28 from the previous month in a national foreclosure ranking among the states, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.
“;Unfortunately, there's just a good number of people who are pretty far underwater on their mortgages,”; said RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Blomquist.
Another indication of the financial woes local families are facing is being seen at Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Hawaii, where 25 percent of the 170 families counseled in November sought assistance because of housing concerns, according to Wendy Burkholder, executive director.
“;They were either in foreclosure, in default or know they're going to default and are trying to be proactive,”; she said, adding that 42 percent of the company's clients in November were unemployed or underemployed. “;Employers are going to have to continue to make hard decisions that will impact the employment for a lot of families. As they retool to the current environment, unfortunately it often means that people lose their jobs. It's absolutely devastating.”;
The state reported 76 notices of defaults, 293 notices of trustee's sales and 24 properties that were repossessed by banks.
Among the counties, Maui had the highest foreclosure rate last month with one in every 860 households receiving foreclosure notice, followed by the Big Island with one in every 874 households and Kauai with one in every 1,491 households. Honolulu reported that one in every 1,555 households received a foreclosure notice during the month.
On a national level, last month's overall foreclosure activity hit the lowest level since June, partly due to new laws that extend the foreclosure process in some states, as well as more aggressive loan modification programs and self-imposed holiday foreclosure moratoriums by some lenders, according to James Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive officer.
“;There are several indications, however, that this lower activity is simply a temporary lull before another foreclosure storm hits in the coming months,”; he said.
The rate of loan delinquencies not yet in the foreclosure process jumped to a record high of nearly 7 percent in the third quarter, while more than half of the homeowners with loan modifications to reduce monthly mortgage payments in the first six months of the year are once again delinquent, according to the U.S. Office of Thrift Supervision.
“;Many of these delinquencies could turn into foreclosures next year,”; Saccacio added.
Foreclosure filings - default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - were recorded on 259,085 U.S. properties last month, a 7 percent decrease from the previous month but up 28 percent from November 2007. One in every 488 U.S. households saw a foreclosure during the month.
Consumer Credit Counseling also reported a rise among all counties in the state, posting the highest volume to date.
The company is projecting it will counsel more than 2,000 families this year, up from 1,300 families in 2007 and between 800 and 900 families in 2006. It also is forecasting working with about 2,500 next year.
“;That's a very sad and daunting number,”; Burkholder said.
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Hawaii's monthly foreclosures over the past year, including the year-over-year percentage gain:
| Month | Total | % Change | Month | Total | % Change |
| 2008 | |||||
| November | 393 | +247.8% | May | 164 | +27.1% |
| October | 395 | +201.5% | April | 216 | +227.3% |
| September | 594 | +340.0% | March | 120 | +84.6% |
| August | 336 | +131.7% | February | 143 | +142.4% |
| July | 229 | +169.4% | January | 123 | +24.2% |
| June | 134 | +18.7% | |||
| 2007 | |||||
| December | 130 | +202.3% | November | 113 | +52.7% |
Source: RealtyTrac
