Home

California Tops List of Subprime Mortgage Foreclosure Risk

A report recently published by the Center for Responsible Lending predicts that one in five subprime mortgages - loans designed for consumers with lower credit scores -originated over the past two years will end up in foreclosure.

According to "Losing Ground: Foreclosures in the Subprime Market and Their Cost to Homeowners,” this rate is twice as high as the projected foreclosure rate for subprime mortages originated in 2002.

Four of the five metro areas expected to experience the highest foreclosure rates for subprime mortgages originated in 2006 are California cities. The top five metro areas, along with their corresponding projected foreclosure rates are:

• Merced, CA (25%)
• Bakersfield, CA (24.2%)
• Vallejo-Fairfield, CA (23.8%)
• Las Vegas, NV (23.7%) and
• Fresno, CA (23.5%)

Of the top 15 metro areas projected to see the largest increase in foreclosure rates for subprime mortages (comparing the projected foreclosure rates for loans orginated between 1998-2001 and those originated in 2006), 14 are in California. The areas with the largest projected increase in foreclosure rates are:

• Santa Ana/Anaheim/Irvine
• Santa Barbara/Santa Maria
• San Diego/Carlsbad/San Marcos

This issue is an important one to watch, as increasing delinquency rates could place pressure on the property tax base if housing prices soften.

Copyright © 2007, MuniNet Guide