First-time residential foreclosures have increased steadily in New York City, particularly in Queens. But compared to, say, L.A. the picture doesn't look quite so grim. October stats courtesy of PropertyShark.

Surprise! Queens, with 211, led the boroughs in first-time foreclosures in October, according to the latest report from PropertyShark. It's an unenviable position Queens has found itself in for months now.

From the Saturday Times: "Existing home sales ... rose 5.5 percent in September over the previous month and 1.4 percent over the last 12 months. The national numbers were buoyed mostly by foreclosure sales in the West. The National Association of Realtors, the group that released the numbers on Friday, estimated that 35 to 40 percent of resold homes nationwide were distressed assets."

There were 665 new foreclosures in Queens during the third quarter of 2008, according to PropertyShark's new report (PDF here), which accounted for half of the new foreclosure auctions in New York City and helped push New York’s quarterly foreclosures to a two-year high of 1,118.

In general, first-time foreclosures were higher in the outer boroughs and relatively non-existent in Manhattan, where there were only 35 in the three months ending Sept. 30. Staten Island had the second-highest number, with 174, followed by Brooklyn (165) and the Bronx (79).  read more »

New York City had more first-time foreclosure auctions in August than in any month since at least the spring of 2005, according to a new report from research site PropertyShark (PDF). Yes, the city notched 383 first-time residential foreclosures last month, a 53.2 percent annual increase (thanks largely to Queens). But, comparatively, that's not all that much.

The report also dishes on other cities, notably the nation's second largest. Los Angeles had 4,907 first-time foreclosures in August, a 158.7 percent jump from August 2007 and enough to create a foreclosure rate per household of 0.16 percent, 12 times higher than that of New York City.

Queens, once again in August, spurred a citywide spike in foreclosures.

The number of first-time residential foreclosure auctions in Queens jumped nearly 43 percent from July to August to 254, according to a new report from research site PropertyShark (PDF). That amount accounted for over two-thirds of the city's 383 first-time foreclosure auctions last month, a jump from 338 in July.

Queens, with its homeownership rate of 47 percent (according to 2006 numbers from N.Y.U.) higher than the city's 34.4 percent rate, seems fertile ground for its unenviable leadership role in residential foreclosures. The higher number of owner-occupied homes may only be exacerbating the problem.  read more »

From The Times' Floyd Norris on the Bush administration's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:

Who could have forecast that it would be under the Bush administration, which talked about restraining the growth of these behemoths, that they came to totally dominate the mortgage markets? Now the administration wants to have it both ways in that area as well. Fannie and Freddie are ordered to start shrinking — in 2010, after a new president will be in office. Until then, they are supposed to grow.

More on the takeover (and replacement of management) of the mortgage finance companies here.

The above is a chart from research site PropertyShark, which tracks the number of new city foreclosure auctions per month. It shows the 15 zip codes with the most new foreclosures in August. Here's more on the numbers.

The number of first-time foreclosures in Queens increased over 42 percent from July to August, according to a new report. The borough accounted for over two-thirds of New York City's 383 first-time residential foreclosures in August.

The report (PDF), from research site PropertyShark, defines a foreclosure as a residential property scheduled to have a foreclosure auction take place for the first time during a particular month.

Queens' unhappy leader position stretches back months. In August 2007, the borough accounted for 48 percent of the city's first-time foreclosure auctions that month.

This August, of the 15 city zip codes with the most foreclosures, Queens claims 14, touching neighborhoods like Jamaica, Hollis, Howard Beach and Ozone Park. (Staten Island claims the 15th.)

From The Times' Floyd Norris:

Here’s a milestone: There are now more foreclosures on prime mortgages than on subprime ones.

The Hope Now alliance — the lenders’ group put together at the urging of Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr — estimates the number of foreclosure proceedings that begin nationally in each month.

The latest figures, for July, put the number at 197,000, the highest for any month since they started keeping track in July 2007.

Of those, 105,000 were prime mortgages, and 92,000 subprime. The June numbers also showed more prime foreclosures initiated.