Paul Kanjorski caught a break today,...well maybe. It seems the news is focusing on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals liberal ruling against Hazleton. The Times Tribune featured this article today highlighting the meteoric rise in foreclosures in the Scranton/Wlikes Barre region.
Regional mortgage foreclosures catapulted in the first six months of the year, according to a national real estate tracking company.
Foreclosures in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton metropolitan area jumped 74 percent from the January-to-June period in 2009, according to RealtyTrac, a Los Angeles-area firm that compiles foreclosure data.
One in 213 residences in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Wyoming counties was in foreclosure from January to June, making the region the 161st most-active among the nation's largest 206 metro areas, according to RealtyTrac. The volume from January to June was up 80 percent from the July-to-December period.
Statewide, foreclosures through June increased 16 percent over the same 2009 period, data show, and one in 199 homes was in repossession.
"I would have guessed they were up more than 50 percent, but it's even more staggering," said Mark Conway, a Dunmore bankruptcy trustee. "At sheriff's sales, there used to be 20 or 30 (properties). Now, there's 80, 90, 100 or more."
The foreclosure jump tracks the region's rising unemployment rate and indicates bank repossessions have moved beyond subprime loans to more-conventionally financed properties.
"This is directly correlated with the recession," said Dr. Satyajit Ghosh, a University of Scranton economist. "Our job situation and our economy is not looking good. The unemployment rate is the highest we've had in many years.
Foreclosures are expected to continue to rise until the employment situation improves.
"If the economy doesn't turn around and the job situation doesn't turn around, this is going to be a consistent problem for a number of years," Mr. Ergott said. "Everybody is kind of bracing for another round of this to hit the fan.
How is Ed Mitchell going to spin this one? Of course he will say it is Lou Barletta's fault that Kanjorski ruined the banking industry with his 20 plus years experience on the Finance Committee. Ed Mitchell took shots at Barletta over unemployment in Hazleton. It is time Kanjorski accounts and atones for what has happened in his district. With no end in sight for job losses our region is destined to suffer economically for years squarely at the hands of Nancy Pelosi, Paul Kanjorski, Harry Reid, and Barack Obama.
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