Average Foreclosure In NYC Area Now Takes Longer Than 3 Years

Aside from being the title of a totally rad Olsen Twins movie, the phrase “New York minute” implies that things move rapidly in the Big Apple. One exception is the home foreclosure process, which can drag out to more than 1,100 days in the NYC metro area.

Bloomberg and RealtyTrac have put together a list of the 10 U.S. counties with the longest foreclosure times and Brooklyn (aka Kings County) tops that list with an average of 1,187 days.

Joining Brooklyn on the list are two more of NYC’s five boroughs — The Bronx (#3, with an average of 1,172 days) and Queens (#8, with 1,043 days on average).

In fact, the rest of the top 10 is either on Long Island or in North/Central New Jersey. The fastest average time on that list belongs to Mercer County, NJ, which clocked in at 988 days.

Part of the reason for the delay is that New York and New Jersey both require judicial review of all foreclosures. Given the population density in the NYC metro area, it’s not surprising that courts may be backlogged with cases.

Additionally, the number of mortgage modifications granted in the NYC area is second only to those handed out in Los Angeles.

Bloomberg’s list of the 10 fastest counties for foreclosures is slightly more diverse, geographically speaking, though five of the top 10 are located in Texas, which does not require judicial review of foreclosures.

The fastest county in the country is Guadalupe County, TX, which is near — but does not include — the city of San Antonio. Foreclosures there only require 46.6 days on average, barely nosing out runner-up, Saint Louis County in Minnesota, where foreclosures average only 46.8 days from start to finish.

Rice County, MN, further south in the state came in #3 with a 51-day average. The slowest of the fastest counties is Banks County, Georgia, at 70.3 days.

Both ends of the foreclosure race can be problematic to consumers. When the process drags on too long, properties can fall into disrepair, lowering the value of neighboring properties. It also makes the foreclosed property harder to sell at auction.

On the flip side, an overly quick foreclosure can mean that a homeowner loses their property without proper review of all the documents or without giving the homeowner an opportunity to come to an agreement that will allow them to remain in the home either by adjusting the mortgage or by converting them into rental tenants.

Brooklyn Shelters Homeowners With Longest Foreclosures [Bloomberg]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.