Chicago, IL (PRWEB) June 12, 2012
The top 20 Chicagoland area cities with the most homes in foreclosure for the first quarter of 2012 were calculated using the ILFLS.com database. Among these cities are Chicago, Aurora, Elgin, Joliet, Plainfield, Cicero, Waukegan, Bolingbrook, Berwyn, Calumet City, Naperville, Romeoville, Des Plaines, Schaumburg, Carpentersville, Palatine, Streamwood, Hanover Park, Dolton, and McHenry. October 2006 is when home prices peaked – this March 2012 local home prices were down 39% compared to the peak. Because of this, many homeowners are being pushed underwater. What does this mean? The mortgage holder owes more on the mortgage than their home is actually worth at this point.
Aurora ranks number 2 on the top 20 foreclosures list, second to Chicago itself. The number of home foreclosures in Aurora reached 449 for 2012 thus far. Over 17% of homeowners are both behind on mortgage payments and underwater in Aurora. Because of this, it is understandable that some of the owners have chosen to stop making payments.
Cicero ranks at number 6 on the top 20 list. In Cicero, the count of home foreclosures for 2012 has reached 225. It has been reported by various sources that 66.3 percent of homeowners in Cicero are underwater. Over 26% of homeowners who are underwater have also fallen behind on their payments. Overall, over 17% of Cicero homeowners are behind on underwater mortgages. Although this number seems alarmingly high, the majority of homeowners who have negative equity continue to pay their mortgages on time. Home values have dropped over 68% in Cicero since 6007. Almost 30% of homeowners in Cicero owe double what their homes are actually worth at this point.
In the Chicago area overall, home values have fallen nearly 39% since Fall of 2006. A high rate of delinquency can pin point several factors about a location. This indicates that, unfortunately, prices will probably remain low in those areas for a few years despite other whether or not other areas’ values increase. For potential homeowners and bargain hunters, it implies that new foreclosures will be steadily coming on the market at low prices. Investor confidence is increasing. The new filings have increased slightly, but nothing unusual. Foreclosure activity is stable as far as the rate is concerned for this area for this time of year.
Among the other top 20 foreclosure cities in the Chicagoland area, the numbers are as follows: 1) Chicago – 4,747; 2) Aurora – 449; 3) Elgin – 350; 4) Joliet – 310; 5) Plainfield – 255; 6) Cicero – 225; 7) Waukegan – 224; 8) Bolingbrook – 208; 9) Berwyn – 177; 10) Calumet City – 175; 11) Naperville – 170; 12) Romeoville –166; 13) Des Plaines – 161; 14) Schaumburg – 156; 15) Carpentersville – 150; 16) Palatine – 144; 17) Streamwood – 142; 18) Hanover Park – 133; 19) Dolton – 133; 20) McHenry–128. Dolton and Hanover Park are actually tied for the 18th place with the same number of foreclosed homes: 133. The average home price is higher than the Illinois average in Hanover Park, and lower than the Illinois average in Dolton. The population in Dolton is also smaller by around 10,000 people.