The worst of the residential foreclosure crisis may be in Connecticut's rearview mirror, but a recent report still ranks the state high among all states for homeowners with troubled mortgages.
In 2017, one in 128 properties was in a stage of foreclosure in Connecticut, placing it fifth highest behind New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Illinois, according to the
By comparison, one in 197 homes were in the process of foreclosure nationally, Attom said.
The report, however, did point to improving conditions in Connecticut. The number of homes in some phase of foreclosure stood at 11,680 in 2017, or 0.78% of all residential properties — down 14% from the previous year.
The most recent peak in Connecticut's foreclosure activity came in 2008 with 21,025 homes, or 1.53% of residential properties, with foreclosure troubles, according to Attom.
Connecticut's slow employment growth — the state has recovered just 69% of the jobs it lost in the recession that ended in early 2010 — has left many households teetering on the brink of foreclosure, experts say.
The need for more options for Connecticut homeowners facing foreclosure recently was identified by a Boston-based development lender focused on low-income neighborhoods.
Boston Community Capital started working with its first Connecticut borrowers who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. Boston Community touts its track record of keeping nearly 900 families in their homes in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island since 2009.
Boston Community's "Stabilizing Urban Neighborhoods," or SUN, program typically works with borrowers whose homes are "underwater" — when more is owed than the property is worth.
SUN negotiates to purchase occupied homes from lenders at what they are worth and then sells them back to the homeowners on the same day on terms the borrower can afford.
