To Fight Rising Foreclosure Listings Levels, Pittsburgh Takes Action
The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has taken steps to help homeowners fight the rising trends in foreclosure listings and repossessions by lenders by pledging to provide more assistance to homeowners in need. Pittsburgh, which has experienced significant foreclosure activity over the past few years, is holding steady at a rate of having 1in every 140 homes in some stage of the foreclosure process, and following the lead of other cities and states, officials have taken it upon themselves to do something about the problem.
Pittsburgh has nowhere near the problem with foreclosure listings that some other cities do, but recently Mayor Luke Ravenstahl remarked that even one foreclosure was too many. By partnering several organizations devoted to economic, community and neighborhood development, the city is working to reach out to homeowners through foreclosure awareness programs and by providing homeowners with assistance from local agencies devoted to helping people avoid finding their homes among the growing number of foreclosure listings appearing across the nation.
And while Pittsburgh has experienced relatively low foreclosure listings activity in recent years, many expect that 2008 may bring increasing levels of foreclosures in the city due to the presence of adjustable rate mortgage ready to reset as the year progresses forward. Pittsburgh will also receive help from the Pennsylvania Housing and Finance Agency, which runs groups dedicated to helping homeowners establish and hang on to equity in their homes, and to provide affordable, fixed rate mortgages to both new homeowners and those looking to refinance and get out from under risky ARMs, which have led to many foreclosure listings nationwide.
Investors have been finding good deals on properties in Pittsburgh through foreclosure listings, but certainly nowhere near the rock bottom prices they are finding in the flooded markets found in other regions.
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