Saint John's home foreclosure rate worst in decades, experts say

Real estate observers say the foreclosure rate in Saint John is the worst they've seen in three decades.

Close to 3.7 per cent of the homes listed for sale in the greater Saint John area this year have been foreclosed on by banks or other lenders.

Hodges Hamm, a long-time real estate agent and broker, says 210 of the Saint John Real Estate Board listings, so far this year, are foreclosures.

"The last time I saw foreclosures in the numbers I'm seeing was in 1980. That's when interest rates were at 18 and 21 per cent," said Hamm.

Mortgage rates today are as low as three per cent.

That's why John Eisner of Credit Counselling Services of Atlantic Canada also finds this trend surprising.

"I find it very alarming to see so many [foreclosures] when the interest rates are so great at this time. Something's not right," he said.

Eisner said under current conditions, an increase in interest rates would create a tsunami of mortgage defaults.

Hamm said many of the homes were empty when the bank moved in, with the owners now living and working out of province.

He said almost all of them are selling below assessed value.

Correction : The foreclosures represent about 3.7 per cent of the total residential listings, not 10 per cent. Hodges Hamm's initial figures were incorrect. (Nov 19, 2014 2:11 PM)