Pennsylvania Foreclosures Go Down as the Economy Steadily Moves Forward
January 2011 saw a steadily improving economy in Pennsylvania. Confidence and the New Year led to more spending and increased 
lending. The mortgage situation improved and Pennsylvania foreclosures decreased statewide. Unemployment also went down, almost insignificantly. Job growth remained steady, but still only around 1%. Manufacturing improved. Nominal improvements, not huge numbers, were the trend, and there being none in the negative was encouraging across all markets.
Across the state, mortgages were slightly more flexible and refinancing available. No part of the state saw an increase in the filing of new foreclosures in January 2011. In rural Pennsylvania, the USDA is still even offering and implementing a renewed marketing push for their 100% mortgages, which negate the need for a down payment. This can be invaluable for people starting out in agriculture or looking to expand into a new crop or season. The offer covers closing costs and has low interest rates. Of course, it requires a very high credit score and near spotless payment record, but it can be priceless and life-changing for many people.
Most of Pennsylvania, and all of the urban areas, saw the situation improve for mortgages, both new and existing. From Philadelphia foreclosures all the way across the state to Pittsburgh foreclosures, all decreased at around the same rate. 
Philadelphia’s went down by 5% and Pittsburgh by 4.9%. Pottstown foreclosures stayed on that trend with a 5.88% decrease, and Allentown foreclosures were right behind with a 3.45% decrease. Harrisburg foreclosures and Reading foreclosures had the best of the month by far with decreases of 12.12% and 14.71% respectively. All of these combined to give the state a fairly successful total decrease for January.
Pennsylvania enjoyed a fairly productive month with mortgage increases, foreclosure decreases and falling unemployment. With all of these, combined with a new Governor and administration, the economy is seen by residents as having some momentum and hope. The progress alone has encouraged investors and stimulated retail and manufacturing numbers. However, what had the greatest impact on the state’s economy were the particularly harsh winter conditions. The major cities had expended all of their snow emergency budgets by the end of 2010. The consistently bad weather, closings, icings and cleanups put the statewide spending in tens of millions of dollars, which no one had anticipated. Snow removal, salting, trash delays and overtime alone were in the multiple millions in January alone. So the year began with not only a statewide deficit, but a weather-related crisis that served to multiply that deficit exponentially.
Governor Corbett came into the state office with bold budgetary moves, pledging to replace over $337 million in education spending with federal funding. Together with a reduction in Community and Economic Development funds of $25 million, there will still be an estimated $4 billion state deficit in Pennsylvania for the coming fiscal year. Reception to the new governor was mixed, but expectations are generally high. As he appointed experienced businesspeople to many posts in his cabinet, it is obvious that fiscal concerns are at the forefront. His newly proposed plan for reform has been touted since over a year ago, in his gubernatorial campaign. And he had promised to release it on Day One of his term as governor. Although the actual announcement happened some time after that, his intentions were being slowly leaked for weeks. Among other things, his proposals include: changing the state budget to a two-year cycle to allow sufficient time for progress; encouraging legislators to reduce their surplus; expanding the online financial state information; and requiring more accountability for state employees’ budgets and spending. With all of these reductions and a continuing trend of reducing Pennsylvania foreclosures on a monthly basis, the upturn the economy has taken is expected to continue.
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