Wyoming foreclosure rate second-lowest in U.S.

Associated Press

Monday, April 30, 2007

CASPER - Wyoming's property foreclosure rate is among the lowest in the nation.

The Bargain Network, a firm that provides real estate information, reports that Wyoming had 21 foreclosures last month.

That is one foreclosure for every 10,659 households, the nation's second-lowest rate.

Only Vermont had a rate lower than Wyoming's, with one foreclosure for every 24,532 households.

The national foreclosure rate is about one in 425 homes. Colorado's rate is one for every 161 households.

According to the report, the number of foreclosures in Wyoming has remained fairly constant over the past six months.

The Bargain Network says that more than 80 percent of the foreclosure activity nationwide involves single-family residences.

John Robbins, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association headquartered in Washington, D.C., said earlier this month that foreclosures most often are the result of local economic conditions, not the result of loans to subprime borrowers.

"For example, the states of Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin represent only about 14 percent of outstanding mortgages in the country, but account for 28 percent of the loans in foreclosure," Robbins said.

He said subprime borrowers account for only about half of the loans in foreclosure in these states.

"This region has lost over 700,000 jobs since the middle of 2000, and it is clearly problems with the economy in this region that are driving the ability of borrowers to repay their mortgages or sell their homes if they get into trouble," Robbins said.