New York Sees 23% Foreclosure Filing Drop Over Last Year

Foreclosure filings were made on 11,017 properties in New York during the first quarter of 2009, representing a 23% decrease compared to the first quarter of 2008 and a 32% increase over the fourth quarter of 2008, according to data from the New York State Banking Department and RealtyTrac. Driving the increase was an 80% increase in lis pendens filings. The banking department and RealtyTrac said they anticipated the increase as a result of the state's new legislation, which went into effect in September 2008, and required a 90-day pre-foreclosure waiting period. This created a sharp decrease in New York foreclosures in the fourth quarter of 2008, and the first quarter of 2009 numbers represent a bounce from the fourth quarter lows, they said. Suffolk County, with 1,773 filings in the first quarter 2009, replaced Queens as the county with the highest number of filings. On a nationwide basis, New York's overall ranking dropped from 35th at the end of 2008 to 37th at the end of the first quarter. "While New York's overall rank among the other states continues to improve, we must not become complacent. There are still pockets where foreclosure levels continue to rise at alarming rates," said Richard Neiman, superintendent of banks for New York. "Four of our counties alone - Suffolk, Queens, Brooklyn and Nassau - represent 50% of the total foreclosure activity in the state."