4th District Foreclosure Rate is .097 Percent
HOTPADS
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
10/10/08
WASHINGTON – Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District has a mortgage foreclosure rate that is lower than 63 percent of the country, according to new real estate data on the Web site hotpads.com.
The data, compiled in partnership with foreclosure listing site RealtyTrac and updated nightly, reveals a foreclosure rate across the district of .097 percent – significantly lower than the country’s highest rate of 4.6 percent, found in the 18th District of California. The 18th District encompasses San Joaquin Valley cities such as Modesto and Stockton.
Seven of the top ten worst foreclosure rates are in California, with Nevada and Florida rounding out the remaining spots. The lowest foreclosure rates are found in Washington, D.C., southern Virginia and New York City. In Republican congressional districts, the average rate of .51 percent is slightly higher than the Democratic districts’ .47 percent.
In a breakdown of foreclosure rates in all 435 congressional districts, the five Connecticut districts rank between 152 and 188. All of the state’s members of Congress voted for both the Foreclosure Act signed into law in June, and the financial bailout bill signed into law last week.
“If you are facing foreclosure, reach out to a local non-profit counselor or see if you qualify for legal aid,” said Chris Kukla of the Center for Responsible Lending. “Find all the help you can get, but make sure you do something – it may save your home.”
Kukla said that, no matter what, avoid payday lenders or car title lenders.
“Both of these options are designed to trap borrowers in debt rather than solve a financial emergency,” he said. “Instead, take a cash advance on your credit card, visit your credit union or local bank for loans, or ask family or friends for help. Payday loans seem easy and anonymous, but they cause more problems than they are worth.”
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