Utah Foreclosure Auction Lists to Spike as Defaults Soared
Foreclosure auction lists in Utah are expected to spike as the rate of home loan defaults increased in June by a staggering 131.25 percent from default levels in June last year, based on a report on nationwide foreclosures.
In June, nearly 3,500 households received a foreclosure notice, with 730 units already ready for foreclosure auction. One household out of every 267 households across the state got a foreclosure notice, placing Utah fifth in a list of states with the biggest default and foreclosure rates.
For the first six-month period of this year, one household got a default or foreclosure notice out of every 69 households, putting the total of default and foreclosure notices to 13,496. This foreclosure rate marked a rise of almost 88 percent compared to the rate in the first 6 months of 2008.
For the second quarter, Utah posted a nearly 112-percent increase in foreclosure rate compared to last year’s second quarter, with one housing unit getting hit with a foreclosure notice out of every 110 units in the state. Nearly 8,500 residential properties were given default and foreclosure notices, with more than 2,000 units already ready for foreclosure auction.
The resulting difficulties experienced by families in Utah are particularly heightened, as families are mostly larger and younger and the number of children is about 50 percent higher than the number of adults.
The loss of jobs in the construction and manufacturing sector hurt Utah families, as 18,000 construction workers and 13,300 manufacturing employees have been laid off. Most families whose only breadwinners are these laid off workers have already lost their homes and have been struggling to make the most out of the painful situation.
In June, more than 78,000 workers became unemployed, based on data from the Utah Department of Workforce Services. This number pushed up the statewide unemployment rate to 5.7 percent, a sharp increase from the 3.3 percent jobless rate in June 2008.
James Woods, head of the economics research department of the University of Utah, said there has been a lot of emotional pain among families as they lose their jobs, see their homes go to foreclosure auction and then see their children struggling with them.
Recently, the Treasury Department said it is considering a foreclosure auction mitigation scheme under which families stay in their foreclosed properties as renters. This scheme may not prevent homes from getting sold at a foreclosure auction, but would keep families safe as they recover from foreclosure.
