2.9 Percent of U.S. Homes Are Vacant

ForeclosuresMass President and co-founder, Jeremy Shapiro A new U.S. Census Bureau report shows that 2.9 percent of U.S. homes, excluding rental properties, were vacant in the first quarter of this year, compared with 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007. The high rates are caused mainly by a spike in foreclosures which are due to adjustable rate mortgages that have reset much higher than they were previously. Utah foreclosures jumped almost 78 percent in the first quarter on this year compared to the same time last year. Utah previously avoided the spotlight of the foreclosure crisis but is now 18th in the nation for foreclosures. One in every 274 households in Utah has received a foreclosure filing in this first quarter. Philidelphia is offering homeowners and lenders caught in the foreclosure crisis a practical route to resolution. The new program called Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program, provides court-sanctioned negotiations between lenders and borrowers to try to resolve troubled loans to avoid foreclosure. The program will hopefully help avoid the need for long term foreclosure moratoriums.

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