Foreclosures on rise across county

By Tyler Graf

The South County Spotlight, Aug 25, 2010

Tyler Graf / The South County Spotlight

Focus on foreclosure — Community Action Team’s Mortgage Specialist Sue Metcalf (left) and its Housing Center Manager Cindy Peake (right) say they believe the county’s foreclosure rate is getting out of control.

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The foreclosure rate for Oregon ranks third in the country behind only Florida and Nevada, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury. And many of those homes are being lost locally in Columbia County.

Foreclosures in St. Helens have increased by 25.9 percent in the past year, according to RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, Calif. real estate data services company. That increase is the second highest for the area, which includes communities such as Portland and all its surrounding suburbs. It’s near the top for the state, as well.

Foreclosures within the urban center of Portland grew by a comparatively anemic 6.5 percent – further evidence, real estate experts say, that suburban and rural areas are being more heavily affected by foreclosures than their urban counterparts.

High unemployment numbers coupled with unyielding mortgage rates continue to bind many homeowners financially, “The foreclosure activity that is occurring in suburban markets in Oregon is unprecedented,” says Tom Cusack, a retired federal housing manager in Portland who continues to track the issue via his Oregon Housing Blog. “It’s affecting not just rural areas, not just inner-city neighborhoods, but suburban neighborhoods, probably more substantially than any time in the past.”

Realtors say a record number of foreclosures dominates the area’s housing market, depressing home prices but also attracting bargain-hunters looking for distressed properties.

Recent state and national data also reveal a trend – affluent homeowners are going into foreclosure at a higher rate than others. Some Realtors, in a counterintuitive move, have begun shying away from houses priced above $400,000, according to Barry Murphy, a Scappoose-based real estate broker for John L. Scott.

“(The foreclosure rate) has certainly impacted the prices,” Murphy said. “It’s holding the market a little hostage.”

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