SPRINGFIELD -- The number of completed mortgage foreclosures in Hampden County was up 42 percent for the fiscal year just completed, according to statistics released Wednesday by Hampden County Register of Deeds Donald E. Ashe.
Donald Ashe
There were 629 mortgage foreclosures completed in Hampden County in fiscal 2016, meaning from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016. That is compared with 442 completed foreclosures in fiscal 2015, which was from July 2014 through the end of June 2015.
There are likely more foreclosures on the horizon as well. Foreclosure orders of notice, a document filed in the early stages of a mortgage foreclosure, are up 41 percent from 942 in fiscal 2015 to 1,329 in fiscal 2016.
More foreclosures may be in indication, ironically, that the real estate market is improving, Ashe said. For years banks held off on foreclosing on loans even if borrowers were in arrears. One reason was that state and federal regulations were changing.
Another reason was that banks were not sure they would be be able to find buyers once they took control of the homes, Ashe said. Now, with real estate sales up, bankers know there will be buyers.
"Will there be more foreclosures? Sure," Ashe said. "One other reason is that, while the unemployment rate for Hampden County is 5.2 percent, many of these jobs don't pay as well as the jobs that people lost in the recession. A lot of people are not making the same kind of money they made when they got their mortgage."
Overall, buyers spent nearly $1.39 billion on Hampden County real estate during the fiscal year. That figure includes housing, commercial property and vacant land. It's a 5.3 percent increase from the $1.32 billion spent in fiscal 2015.
That 2015 figure was up 14 percent compared with fiscal 2014, largely because of the $28.7 million MGM Springfield spent on real estate in Springfield's South End in the second half of calendar year 2014.
In neighboring counties:
Hampshire County: Completed foreclosures were up 50.7 percent to 113 for fiscal 2016 from 75 in fiscal 2015, according to Beth Callahan of the Hampshire County Registry of Deeds. A year ago, foreclosures were up 25 percent from 60 in fiscal 2014 to 75 in fiscal 2015.
The total amount spent on all real estate in Hampshire County in fiscal 2016 was $652.3 million. That was a 12.9 percent increase from $578 million in fiscal 2015. That $578 million itself was a 16 percent increase from $497 million in fiscal 2014.
Franklin County: Completed foreclosures were up 66.1 percent to 103 for fiscal 2016 from 62 in fiscal 2015, according to Jennifer A. Wood, deputy assistant register in Franklin County. Last year, they were up 5.1 percent from 59 in fiscal 2014.
The total amount spent on Franklin County real estate in fiscal 2016 was $241.4 million. That was a 4.7 percent decrease from the $253 million spent on Franklin County real estate in fiscal 2015. Last year, that amount was up 33.4 percent from $190 million in fiscal 2014.
In the forecast part of his report, Ashe said the real estate market's future in large part depends on millennials. As the largest generation in history, they could have a big impact.
But they are delaying the purchase of their first homes, pushing the average age of a new home buyer up to 31 years of age, the highest its been in years, Ashe said.
"More and more 18- to 35-year-olds are choosing to rent or cohabit with their
parents to save money, a result of a deadly combination of low wages, high education costs and student loan debt, and increased housing prices. Though the volume of millennial homeowners is still low for their population size and capability, it is expected that they will make a significant impact on the market once they have the means and confidence to purchase."
Hampden Register's Forecast FY16 by Jim Kinney on Scribd