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New Jersey Has the Highest Rate of Mortgage Foreclosures in the United States

Written on Behalf of Joel R. Spivack

New Jersey has been known to be a buyer’s market due to the exceedingly active foreclosures market for quite some time, but the foreclosure epidemic is really only beginning to be grasped by statisticians who study the real estate market. CoreLogic has cited New Jersey as the state with the highest rate of mortgage foreclosures in the country, beating out other notorious foreclosure states such as Florida and New York.

Looking at the actual numbers, the mortgage foreclosure rates are truly staggering.

Approximately 5.5 percent of all mortgages end up in foreclosure in the state of New Jersey. Florida, which has long been known for its high foreclosure rates, only has a foreclosure rate of 4.1 percent. It’s also worth noting that the Garden State also has a delinquency rate of 9.1 percentage to also the highest in the nation.

Even more startling is the news that New Jersey is the only state in the nation that has increasing foreclosure rates. Nationally, foreclosures decreased by 30 percent from 2013. In New Jersey, cases continue to pile up, but not for the reasons that you may think.

  • New Jersey’s laws recently changed when it came to foreclosure mediation, which in turn, caused a huge backlog in county courts.
  • After the illegal foreclosure scandals that have taken place in recent years, many foreclosures done by major lenders were frozen indefinitely. It’s only been recently that those same foreclosures have started to pass through the courts.
  • Recent shuttering of Atlantic City casinos also rocked the Atlantic County job market which, in turn, caused many borrowers to default on their mortgage loans.
  • The Garden State also happens to be known for having some of the highest property taxes in the country. This also can negatively impact a homeowner’s ability to pay their mortgage on time.

Working through a foreclosure can be extremely difficult if you try to do it alone. In fact, it’s safe to say that you should never try to navigate foreclosure or the threat of foreclosure without an experienced foreclosure defense lawyer on your side. Real estate lawyer Joel R. Spivack, Esq. has been guiding South Jersey families through foreclosure for more than 20 years. He can help yours, too. Contact him today for a consultation about your case.