The FINANCIAL — Despite the national decline of 2.65 percent in foreclosure filings for the first half of 2015 compared to the first half of 2014, the state of Missouri saw a large increase of 32.17 percent as did Ferguson with an increase of 15.79 percent in properties with foreclosure filings.
Ferguson saw an even bigger increase of 72.55 percent in the first half of 2015 compared to the second half of 2014 in foreclosure activity. Again, this is the opposite of the national trend which saw a decrease of 12.51 percent, according to Renwood RealtyTrac.
Ferguson residential properties that were seriously underwater is over three times that of the national percentage in the second quarter of 2015 and more than twice the state of Missouri.
In the second quarter of 2015, 42.9 percent of all properties with a mortgage were seriously underwater in Ferguson- where the combined loan amount secured by the property is at least 25 percent higher than the property’s estimated market value – while the U.S. stood at 13.3 percent and Missouri at 17.5 percent.
A year ago in the second quarter of 2014, half (50 percent) of all properties with a mortgage in Ferguson were seriously underwater.
On the other end, of the spectrum the national percentage of properties that are Equity Rich almost triples the area of Ferguson, MO.
In the second quarter of 2015, 7.5 percent of all mortgages were equity rich – those with at least 50 percent equity-which is up 1 percentage point from the previous year but in comparison to 19.6 percent being equity rich at the national level and 13.1 percent in the state of Missouri, Ferguson still has some rebuilding to do.
