Over the past few years, Maryland has seen a large number of foreclosures and, as a result, is featured among states with the highest foreclosure rates in the country. One of the major reasons for this was the recent economic downturn, which not only affected people in Maryland but also throughout the rest of the country. According to the latest reports, foreclosures in Maryland saw a 20 percent increase in August of 2014 compared with the same month in previous years. In fact, compared with July of 2014, foreclosures increased by as much as 71 percent.
Moreover, the high foreclosure rate also resulted in Maryland ranking third among states with the highest number of bankruptcy filings, which means that one in every 17 houses in the state went into foreclosure. However, foreclosure auctions were up in Maryland by 20 percent and that occurred at a time when foreclosure auctions increased across the country for the first time since 2010. That is a sharp contrast considering that some states witnessed a two- to three-fold increase in foreclosure auctions.
As reports suggest, one reason for Maryland’s high foreclosure rates is the state’s participation in extensive litigation during the housing crisis. Because of the litigation, many foreclosure proceedings were restarted by banks long after people stopped occupying the residences or paid their mortgages. As the vice president of RealtyTrac suggests, this is probably the clean-up period since the foreclosure crisis is now a thing of the past, which did make a significant impact.
In spite of the present situation, the recently retired Maryland Housing Secretary pointed out that although foreclosure rates in Maryland are high, mortgage delinquency rates have dropped. In fact, Maryland’s delinquency rates have steadily declined since the last quarter of 2010. That is probably due to the state’s improving economy and the strengthening housing market.
Source: Baltimore Business Journal, “Maryland foreclosures increase 17 percent, still third-highest in U.S.” Kevin Litten, Sept. 11, 2014