HousingWorks RI: Foreclosures drop in first quarter

HOUSINGWORKS RI said 395 residential foreclosure deeds were filed in the first quarter, a 16.6 percent decline from 474 filed during the prior year period. / COURTESY HOUSINGWORKS RI
HOUSINGWORKS RI said 395 residential foreclosure deeds were filed in the first quarter, a 16.6 percent decline from 474 filed during the prior year period. / COURTESY HOUSINGWORKS RI

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s rate of foreclosure starts in the first quarter was highest in New England and fifth highest in the nation, according to HousingWorks RI.

HousingWorks RI, based at Roger Williams University, said in the report released Friday that 395 residential foreclosure deeds were filed in the first quarter, a 16.6 percent decline from 474 filed during the prior year period.

The report looked at the number of residential foreclosures in each of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns.

It said 13 communities, as well as the East Side of Providence, experienced an increase in residential foreclosure deeds filed, while 22 experienced a decrease and four had no change at all.

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Middletown experienced the highest increase at 400 percent, going to five foreclosure deeds filed in the first quarter from one during the 2014 period. West Greenwich saw its foreclosure deeds rise 250 percent, to seven from two, and Barrington had a 200 percent increase, to three from one.

Exeter had a 100 percent decrease, as it had no foreclosures in the first quarter, but two during the prior year period.

Providence, not including the East Side, saw foreclosures decrease 26 percent to 62 from 84. Including the East Side, the city saw foreclosures rise 100 percent to four from two.

The report also said there were 89 filings for multi-family foreclosure deeds in the first quarter, the lowest first quarter count since its peak in 2009 at 331.
“While it’s encouraging to see less foreclosures in Q1 2015 than in Q1 2014, it’s important to remember that the count for last year was inflated due to a backlog of foreclosures being cleared by banks during Q1,” Courtland Hall III, research assistant for HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University said in a statement. “When we look back and compare to Q1 2013, we can see that there were more residential foreclosure deeds filed during the first quarter of this year than in 2013.”
In first quarter 2013, there were 387 foreclosures.
HousingWorks RI’s also noted that 15.7 percent of homeowners have negative equity in their home, the highest rate in New England and fourth highest in the nation.
While Rhode Island has a high number of mortgages with negative equity, the rate is on a relative decline from a high of 26 percent in first quarter 2013, HousingWorks RI said.
“Rhode Island fares poorly in regional and national comparisons of foreclosure-related indicators, but these are only first quarter data,” Hall said “Over the next three quarters, it will be interesting to see whether conditions improve for homeowners.”

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