The home foreclosure filing rate in Maryland for November was 6.1 percent lower than the previous year but rose 8.6 percent from October, the Gazette reported on December 16, 2011. According to data from Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac, the national average of one filing per 579 households last month was down 2.7 percent from October and 14.5 percent from a year earlier, but the one filing per 1,800 households in Maryland was the 10th-lowest rate in the nation.
The Gazette also noted that with one filing per 1,150 households, Prince George’s County did not have the highest rate in the state for “the first time in many months.” Instead, Charles County led the state in that dubious category with one filing per 964 households.
It was mentioned on this blog last month that one study estimated it could take decades to clear out the foreclosure backlogs of both Maryland and Washington DC. Furthermore, a United Press International story published on December 20, 2011, quoted one Maryland real estate agent who said the “foreclosure/short sale markets are making it difficult to get non-distressed homes to appraise,” and are thus holding off a market comeback in the area.
As that backlog starts to clear up, homeowners needing foreclosure help need to keep in mind that a Chapter 13 or Chapter 7 bankruptcy process can be a better alternative to a short sale that typically benefits the real estate broker more than the owner of the house.
What do you think will happen with the foreclosure rate in Maryland next month? What about next year?
Law Firm of Kevin D. Judd – Maryland bankruptcy lawyer
