Repo Homes for Sale Soared in Hampton Roads, Virginia
Repo homes for sale soared in number last year in the Hampton Roads area, a metro area that includes the cities of Newport News, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Hampton. The area is known for its harbor, shipyards, waterfront properties, beaches and U.S. military facilities.
According to data from a California-based foreclosure research firm, foreclosures in the area soared by almost 50 percent year-over-year to 9,794 filings in 2009 and shot up by more than 360 percent compared to 2007 filings. Filings in 2009 represented 1.44 percent of all households in the metro area.
The Peninsula area, a part of the bigger Hampton Roads metro area, also experienced a staggering increase in foreclosures in 2009, posting 2,735 foreclosures, a significant jump from the 86 households notified of foreclosure in 2006.
Among counties in the Peninsula area, James City County posted the highest foreclosure rate at 1.5 percent in 2009 and ranked 27th among 134 counties and cities surveyed in Virginia. Newport News was 34th, followed by Hampton, which ranked 36th.
According to the Virginia Peninsula Association of Realtors and the Real Estate Information Network, almost 25 percent of existing homes resold in Hampton Roads in December were repo homes for sale and distresses properties, the highest percentage reached since the start of the housing crisis.
Jill Simmons, a HUD-certified counselor with Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, said that a record number of distressed homeowners have been seeking housing counselors in 2009, but the number has been declining in the early part of 2010.
Simmons said that distressed homeowners may have been contacting their lenders directly or may have given up on their loans. She said that the services offered by Catholic Charities are free and advised troubled borrowers to work with a HUD-approved counselor who is familiar with the federal loan modification policies and who already knows what banks require.
Luanne Gallagher, director for the housing and financial counseling department of Catholic Charities, said that the percentage of troubled homeowners in danger of losing their homes because of unemployment or reduced income has surpassed the percentage of those who are distressed because of exotic mortgages or large loan amounts taken.
According to Tom Sullivan, head of the realtor association, more repo homes for sale are expected in the Hampton Roads area this year largely because of the record number of adjustable-rate mortgage loans that will reset this year.
