Foreclosures.com reported today that the number of homes entering the foreclosure process in the Chicago metro area remains higher than usual.
“We’re seeing an average of 508 new filings per week for the month of March and the first two weeks of April,” said Foreclosures.com president Alexis McGee in a statement. “That’s almost double the normal historic baseline of 260 per week for the six Chicago metro counties.”
McGee said protracted unemployment in the Chicago area is likely a major factor. She also cited a recent warning by economists at Bank One in Chicago that relaxed loan qualification standards in the secondary mortgage market may have resulted in some homeowners getting into loans they couldn’t afford.
Foreclosures.com has been tracking foreclosures and publishing foreclosure property lists since 1992. The company serves the metro areas of Chicago, the New York metro area, all of New Jersey, Phoenix, Ariz., Las Vegas and 18 California counties.
