Foreclosures are continuing to rise in California. That’s despite the moratorium on home foreclosures that the state and some banks started earlier this year.
The research firm RealtyTrac says during the first half of 2009, foreclosure activity in the state was up around 15 percent, both from the previous six-months and the first half of 2008.
RealtyTrack’s Daren Blomquist says the rising jobless rate is making matters worse.
“It’s giving this foreclosure problem legs. Whereas if this was just a problem that centered risky loans, a lot of the foreclosure prevention efforts right now are designed to address that. It’s harder to prevent foreclosures that are caused by unemployment,” says Blomquist.
Blomquist says that’s because it’s difficult to modify a home loan for someone who isn’t getting a regular paycheck.
