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Maryland bankruptcy filings up 45%
Daily Record, The (Baltimore),
Aug 28, 2008 by Barbara Grzincic

Bankruptcies in Maryland surged 45.6 percent for the 12-month period that ended June 30, according to figures released Wednesday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

All but 405 of the state's 16,339 filings for the period were personal bankruptcies, the Administrative Office said. Nationwide, Maryland ranked 20th.
The country as a whole saw a 28.9 increase from the 12 months ending June 30, 2007 -- from 751,056 filings to nearly a million, or 967,831.

That's still well below the comparable figure from the previous period, which included the run-up to the October 2005 effective date of the Bankruptcy Reform Act. The 12-month period that ended June 30, 2006, saw 1,484,570 filings nationally and 24,643 in Maryland.

U.S. Home Vacancies Rise to Record on Foreclosures
By Kathleen M. Howley

April 28 (Bloomberg) -- A record 18.6 million U.S. homes stood empty in the first quarter as lenders took possession of a growing number of properties in foreclosure.

The figure is 5.7 percent higher than a year ago, when 17.6 million properties were vacant, the U.S. Census Bureau said in a report today. The vacancy rate, the share of homes empty and for sale, rose to 2.9 percent, the highest in a series that goes back to 1956. About 2.3 million empty homes were for sale, compared with 2.2 million a year earlier, the report said.

The worst U.S. housing slump in more than a quarter century is deepening as falling values encourage buyers to delay purchases in hopes of getting a better deal. The median U.S. home sale price may drop 5.8 percent in 2008, the most on record, followed by another 4.7 percent decline next year, Fannie Mae, the world's largest mortgage buyer, said April 7.
``We think it unlikely that prices begin to stabilize until vacancy rates start declining,'' Jan Hatzius, chief U.S. economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in New York, said today in a report for clients.

There were 129.4 million homes in the U.S. in the first quarter, the study said. In addition to homes for sale, the report counted 4.1 million vacant homes that are for rent and 4.7 million that are seasonal.

Most foreclosures are contained in the report's ``other'' category, which includes homes tied up in legal proceedings as well as homes that are empty because the owner is renovating and living somewhere else, according to the Census Web site. There were 7.5 million such homes that were vacant, up from 7.3 million a year earlier, the report said.

The U.S. homeownership rate was 67.8 percent, down from 68.4 percent a year ago, the study said. The rate has fallen or remained unchanged for six consecutive quarters.
New foreclosures have risen to an all-time high, led by defaults in adjustable-rate loans to people with poor or limited credit histories, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Home-price declines and tougher lending standards are making it difficult for owners who fall behind on their mortgage payments to sell or refinance into better loans.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kathleen M. Howley in Boston at kmhowley@bloomberg.net.

Law Office of Michele L. Payer

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