Lenders started 5,757 foreclosure proceedings against New Jersey homeowners in August - down less than 1 percent from July, according to a state official.
The number of residential foreclosure filings in New Jersey was up more than 40 percent in August over the same month last year, said Kevin Wolfe, a chief in the civil division of the court administration office in Trenton. It was down more than 6 percent from June’s high of 6,133.
Not all homeowners who receive foreclosure notices eventually lose their homes, and state and federal programs have helped thousands renegotiate loans to avoid foreclosure, said Gail Davis, housing counseling supervisor at East Orange-based Tri-city Peoples Corp. She said a majority of her clients are being referred to the mediation programs by their lenders.
“It’s truly a step in the right direction,” she said of the programs. “It has put some guidelines in there, especially for these investors, the private investors, who really didn’t want to do anything.”
More than 2,600 New Jerseyans have gotten counseling through the state’s Foreclosure Mediation Program, according to a statement made earlier this month by Gov. Jon S. Corzine. About 1,450 cases have been completed. And, roughly half of those represented by the completed cases have been able to stay in their homes.
The Obama administration also said roughly 500,000 homeowners nationwide have had their loans modified under the federal “Making Home Affordable” program. A government report, however, questioned whether the administration would reach its objective of preventing 3 million to 4 million foreclosures, much less keep many of those who modified their mortgages from ultimately losing their homes.
The state estimates foreclosure complaints will continue to dip in September to a number significantly below 5,000, said Steve Sigmund, a spokesman for the governor, though very little of the paperwork for that month has been processed yet.
Complaints are the first judicial step in the state toward foreclosure. They tend to be volatile from month to month.
The state’s filings seem to be following a trend.
More up to date national information shows foreclosure filings were reported on 343,638 properties across the country last month, That was a 4 percent decrease in September’s filings from the previous month, but a 29 percent increase from September 2008, according to a report from RealtyTrac.
And, Sigmund said that the state’s governor recognizes that New Jerseyans still have a long way to go before the housing crisis ends.
“We’re not out of the woods,” he said. “Though we can begin to see the end of the path.”
