HEAR THAT HISSING SOUND?

It's what's left of the Housing Bubble.

Foreclosures go up sharply here
Trend linked to slowed home sales,
inflation, adjustable rate mortgages
by Joseph Barrios
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tucson, Arizona Published: 06.04.2006

Foreclosures are increasing in Pima County as the housing market slows, inflation accelerates and creative financing plans mature, experts say.

The number of foreclosure proceedings in Pima County that were initiated by lenders reached 1,199 in the first three months of 2006, a 27 percent increase over the 943 filings in the first quarter of 2005, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a real estate data company based in Irvine, Calif.

Statewide, the increase in foreclosure filings was 6 percent. But the news isn't all bad. While the number of foreclosure proceedings has increased at home, we're still faring better than the nation as a whole. For the United States, the increase between the same periods was 59 percent.

One reason for the increase is the relative difficulty in selling homes, experts said.

Some experts fear the foreclosure numbers may get worse soon because the terms of many adjustable-rate mortgages are about to change. These mortgages typically have a short period — three, five or seven years — at a low, fixed rate before shifting to a free-floating market rate. The fixed periods of thousands of mortgages are about to end, and with interest rates rising, customers' payments may rise dramatically.

Add in the the rising price of gasoline and higher credit-card payments and homeowners may find themselves in a bind, said Dennis Rosen, a Tucson lawyer who deals in foreclosures and also holds a mortgage broker's license.