Foreclosures Gobble Up Exclusive Towns
Foreclosures are gobbling up exclusive towns – not even the sophisticated exclusive ones like Nantucket, Edgartown and Weston. This shows that the foreclosure debacle in Massachusetts is going further downhill. Today some the richest towns are being bitten by the foreclosure bug. The sky jump in these areas is more than the average of the state.
Massachusetts’s foreclosures have risen by 37% in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2007. The exclusive zones of the state have caught up late with the foreclosure crisis. The buyers who purchased ritzy villas or gated accommodations in the exclusive zip codes are now struggling to meet mortgage payments like the others in the state. This is further weakening the economy and causing real estate markets to tumble. There are no boundaries anymore. Foreclosure the great leveler is hard at work. Jeremy Shapiro opines that ‘communities rich and poor, urban and suburban and rural are all being impacted.’
In the forefront are towns with triple digit jumps – Belmont, Oak Bluffs and Nahant with 200%, 217% and 240% spikes respectively. Many rich suburban towns are also entering the club of Bay State communities of 25 members where the foreclosure rates have doubled. On the islands foreclosure numbers skyrocketed in Edgartown, Tisbury and Nantucket by 100%, 150% and 113% respectively. In some of the fancy western suburbs there were dramatic increases in foreclosures. In Medfield, Boxboro and Weston it increased by 114%, 144% and 138% respectively.
With the sliding down of the general economy and especially the real estate market even the wealthy are finding it difficult to wiggle out of the foreclosure net. To add insult to injury there are numerous job losses. The alternative of selling the house and escaping the ignominy of foreclosure is no longer available. The loan amount, more often than not, is greater than the fallen value of the mortgaged property. At the root of the problem is the real estate slump.
There is talk that those investing in real estate might avail of a rare opportunity on student rentals in Boston. In the two neighbourhoods of Allston and Fenway, packed with students, 518 apartments and 24 properties are up for grabs. The sale of so many is raising eyebrows. With rents at an all time high it is feared that the investors are out to put on the squeeze taking advantage of foreclosed victims searching for houses.
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