Not sure 11th is an improvement, though.

http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2010/01/11/daily33.html

Key highlights:
-Over 34,000 homes in Oregon were foreclosed in 2009
-Foreclosures in 2009 increased 90% from 2008, and 303% from 2007
-1 in every 47 homes in Oregon received a foreclosure filing in 2009
-Clackamas [West Linn], Columbia, Deschutes, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine and Yamhill counties had Oregon’s highest foreclosure ratings.

Very sobering indeed….

David

Stuart, thanks for sharing the link. Very scary indeed which means that housing is still falling. I think the only thing that has prevented further erosion is that the banks are not in a rush to foreclose on properties, and when they do, they keep holding on to them to prevent flooding the market and further depress prices. You would think that the banks would be desperate to get foreclosed properties off their books, but I’m guessing with all the favorable terms the banks have to hold onto property using taxpayer bailout funds, they can afford to keep the properties and pay the maintenance costs, rather than take a huge immediate loss and destroy and already weak market. But, how long are the banks willing to wait to recover their losses ? All we’re doing is prolonging the road to recovery. Take the bitter pill now, do the write-off, and then let the market “recover” over the next few years. Do you rip your band-aid off fast, or slow. In this case, we’ve opted to rip it off painfully slow.

Stuart, do you think Option-A and Alt-A loans will devastate West Linn ? Do you really think that people in a relatively low-cost area like Portland, when compared to the true bubble cities (Miami, San Fran, Phoenix, Las Vegas, etc.), have been financing their homes through these exotic and dangerous loans ?