Baltimore Real Estate and Foreclosure Crisis

Foreclosure rates are high in Maryland. Overall Maryland is weathering the recession better than most other states, but not when it comes to foreclosures. The number of foreclosure events — either final dispositions of foreclosures or court filings — increased in the final three months of 2009 to nearly 17,000. That’s 13.4 percent higher than the previous quarter and nearly 70 percent higher than the previous year. You can read the full story at NG Realty Group website. Hardest hit by far is Howard County, followed by Baltimore City. The foreclosures have crippled the state’s housing market and driven down real estate values, compounding economic woes that could last for years.

During his term, Gov. Martin O’Malley has made foreclosure prevention one of the key focuses of his administration, pushing through legislation that lengthened what was previously one of the quickest foreclosure processes in the nation and creating resources to help troubled homeowners find assistance. Now he’s back with legislation to require mediation between lenders or mortgage servicers and borrowers.

It has the general support of both consumer advocates and the state’s banking industry, and it deserves to be enacted by the General Assembly. Visit www.ngrealtygroup.com to read more of this story, just check out the blog. In many cases, it would do a lot of good. But lawmakers and homeowners should understand that it will not solve the foreclosure crisis and that given the way things have deteriorated, it’s possible that nothing the government can do will solve it completely.

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