Foreclosure cases in New York City have declined in the last two years even though state overall saw a jump, a report released Monday by the state comptroller said.
While the state’s pending foreclosure cases dropped substantially from a peak of 47,664 during the economic crisis in 2009 to 16,655 in 2011, they shot up about 28% between 2013 and this year, according to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
“Foreclosed properties displace families and weigh heavily on local communities, reducing property values and eroding tax bases,” he said in a statement.
The city however, went the other direction, with a 10% drop in foreclosures, falling from 32,234 in 2013 to 29,167 this year.
The Bronx was the only borough that saw an increase during that period, jumping 26% from 2013 with 3,903 pending foreclosures to 4,925 in 2015.
DiNapoli indicated the problem is taking longer to rebound in counties that were booming before the recession, such as Suffolk, Nassau, Rockland and Putnam.
The city, on the other hand “already turned the corner,” and was making good progress, according to the report.
DiNapoli noted that major banks are improving their policies when it comes to vacant and abandoned properties with delinquent mortgages. The banks have been inspecting, securing and maintaining the homes throughout the delinquency period, the report said.
“All the stakeholders … must continue efforts to clear the backlog of pending cases to stem the spread of foreclosure-induced blight,” the report said.
