Buy a Foreclosed Home in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area

Finding a foreclosed home in the Washington, D.C. metro area for investment can become a reality for more investors now that Prince George’s County, which is part of the Washington, D.C. metro area, posted more foreclosures in October compared to the same month last year.

According to a real estate research firm, over 2,000 households in Prince George’s County were hit with foreclosure cases in October, accounting for almost one-third of all filings in the Washington, D.C. metro area.

One residential unit out of every 157 units in the county was hit with a foreclosure notice, much higher than the rate of Maryland, which is one out of every 348, and the country, which posted a rate of one out of every 385.

Nationwide, foreclosure activity slowed down compared to September, but still at a higher pace compared to October last year. According to analysts, the three months of consecutive monthly drops may be signaling the start of a real recovery in the nationwide housing market.

But one can still find a good foreclosed home in the capital region because of the increase in filings in Prince George’s County and despite drops in filings in the counties of Prince Williams, Loudoun and Fairfax.

The pace of foreclosure in Prince William declined by more than 50 percent compared to last year while Loudoun and Fairfax posted lower rates of decreases. But the foreclosure rates of Prince William and Loudoun were still higher than Virginia’s rate of one residential unit out of every 597 units.

The D.C. areas not suffering from a lot of foreclosure activity are the inner suburbs of Arlington and Alexandria.

According to analysts, the major factors causing continued foreclosures in other areas of the country are also the major factors pushing foreclosure activity in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Unemployment, negative equity and high-risk mortgage loans are still the major factors for defaults and foreclosures.

Implementation of the Home Affordable Modification Program has been stepped up, but there are still a lot of distressed homeowners who cannot qualify for the program because of loss or reduction of income.

In the Treasury Department report released this week, total home loan modifications nationwide have surpassed 650,000 as of October 31, but the number is still small compared to the record numbers of foreclosures and distressed homeowners. The nightmare of being forced out of a foreclosed home is still a reality for many American homeowners.