From Blue New Jersey:
Home foreclosures are rising in New Jersey, from 23,000 two years ago to 34,457 last year - and they are on pace to hit 50,000 this year, lawmakers were told Monday.
"That's far more than double in two years," Banking and Insurance Commissioner Steven Goldman told a joint meeting of the Assembly financial institutions and housing committees.
The Commissioner did try to find a silver lining with all of the difficult economic news:
Goldman said, "I am pleased to report that our state-chartered banks are doing relatively well. Our state banks here have steered clear of the risky, exotic loan products."
Goldman said foreclosures and past-due loans in New Jersey are below the national average, noting that sub-prime mortgage loans - considered a root of the global illness - "represent about 10.5 percent of all loans in New Jersey.
This testimony came as part of a busy day in the Assembly where 9 hearings were held, many bills were heard and legislation dealing specifically with the foreclosure issue was passed out of committee:
The New Jersey Home Ownership Preservation Act establishes a $30 million fund to pay for emergency loans, counseling services and efforts by nonprofits to buy foreclosed properties and return them to productive uses.
The bill also would give homeowners facing foreclosure six months to renegotiate the terms of their mortgage or find new financing.
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