New Foreclosure Wave in NYC?

Persistent high unemployment in the New York metropolitan area may combine with rising interest rates to spur a new wave of foreclosures in the near future, according to Foreclosures.com, a distressed investment property advisory firm based in Fair Oaks, Calif.Company president Alexis McGee noted that citywide unemployment rate actually rose from 7.4% to 7.6% in July, and increased in Kings County (Brooklyn) from 8.0% to 8.4%. "We saw 1,325 new foreclosure cases filed in Kings County and 1,646 in Queens County in the first half of 2004," Ms. McGee said. "These are the counties that have the highest percentage of owner-occupied dwellings. Now we're seeing a lull in foreclosure activity, but view that as temporary." The high unemployment plus rising rates will create a "double whammy" for homeowners in financial distress, she said.