Foreclosures Stalking Elite Neighbourhoods
Not having satiated its appetite with the houses of the middle and low-income group, foreclosures are now stalking elite neighbourhoods. On Greenwich Road in Bedford a ranch house with peeling paint and the looks of disrepair is very much out of place considering the locality. But foreclosures respect nothing. Broker Mark Boyland comments that there is nothing typical about foreclosures today as no community is safe from its tentacles.
The average household income in Scarsdale is $217,000 – it being one of the steepest in the country. Here too 57 houses are in foreclosure. The foreclosure rate is 1:254 according to RealtyTrac.
There are 201 units in trouble in White Plains with a foreclosure rate of 1:133. Looking at the exterior of a well looked after colonial style single-family house valued at $1 million it is difficult to gauge that the owner has been defaulting for the last six months. This has not stopped him from collecting $8,000 as monthly rent said Boyland.
Rick Sharga quipped that except perhaps for the White House, there is no corner of America that is not directly or indirectly affected by the foreclosure crisis. Foreclosure menace is nothing new in American history but what is unique this time is that high priced houses are also under its shadow. There are not too many of them because the highest concentration of foreclosure is in the low-income neighbourhoods.
In Westchester the maximum number of foreclosures are in Yonkers with 655 houses in foreclosure and a rate of 1:107. The second place is occupied by Mount Vernon with 519 units facing foreclosure and a rate of 1:53. Port Chester has 128 houses on the foreclosure listing and a rate of 1:128.
In Westchester till 1st September there have been 2,984 foreclosures. The foreclosure rate is 1:119. It can be compared to Queens where there were 10,654 foreclosures and to Suffolk that had 9,091 listings. In Westchester there has been an 11% increase from August 2007.
The fear is that the situation is going to worsen in the near future predicted George Groves of Re/Max Prime Properties, Scarsdale. However the sun is shining for some who are busy making hay. The investors are making full use of the drop in the real estate values but it involves tons of hard work. Nothing comes easy. Not every broker is successful – it needs specialized skill and experience to deal with foreclosed houses.
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