Home foreclosure rates in Ohio and western Pennsylvania (August 2011)

[BrianTH]

It would be interesting to see deliquency and foreclosure maps before the housing bubble burst, and/or maps of the change in rates. I suspect we would find a lot more change in Northeastern Ohio versus Southwestern Pennsylvania.

[kjtocool]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Figures 2 & 3 (which I am having trouble linking directly) at the Cleveland Fed link may help sort this out:

Mortgage Lending Patterns as of August 2011 :: Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Looking at the numbers this way does give a much better comparison at a state to state level. Looking at those figures, it becomes clear PA does statistically have about a percent less foreclosures than Ohio (which one would logically assume anyways due to economic state, but it does validate the assumption). Also does a good job charting us vs. the national average.

Originally Posted by Gnutella

If anything, my original post struck a nerve.

It struck a logical nerve. I find this topic very interesting, and was surprised when I went to look at the article and found a different chart that didn't paint nearly as rosy a picture. It made me wonder if the topic was intentionally painting TOO rosy a picture.

I am not well versed enough geographically to be able to visually pick out the population centers on the charts, so all I could do was look at the overall picture the delinquency chart painted and take note that while there was still a discernible difference between Ohio and PA, it was far less a difference than the foreclosure chart made it seem.

The additional figures Brian posted suggest the delinquency and foreclosure percentages have held a somewhat steady gap between states, with PA having about a ~0.75% lower delinquency rate, and ~1.25% lower foreclosure rate as of the most recent numbers. The numbers still suggest that PA delinquencies turn into foreclosures at a lower rate, which I find interesting.

Originally Posted by Gnutella

Conversely, the number of people who live in high-delinquency counties in eastern Ohio is more than triple the number of people who live in low-delinquency counties. This is why the housing market in western Pennsylvania is in much better shape than it is in eastern Ohio.

It does appear that when you contrast the figures Brian linked to the article you linked, that Western PA is likely out performing Ohio even more than the state of PA as a whole.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by kjtocool

It does appear that when you contrast the figures Brian linked to the article you linked, that Western PA is likely out performing Ohio even more than the state of PA as a whole.

Which makes sense, since they have generally had a more serious delinquency/foreclosure problem in Eastern PA. See, e.g., here:

Pennsylvania Foreclosure Statistics, Trends and Heat Map | RealtyTrac

[bradjl2009]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

Which makes sense, since they have generally had a more serious delinquency/foreclosure problem in Eastern PA. See, e.g., here:

Pennsylvania Foreclosure Statistics, Trends and Heat Map | RealtyTrac

I had a little fun with that map and looked into other states, and every county in the Pittsburgh metro has a lower foreclosure rate than the county with the lowest foreclosure rate in California.