Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

The number of borrowers in Rhode Island who defaulted on their primary mortgage jumped 114 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, signaling that the foreclosure crisis here is far from over.

The Providence Journal and projo.com have created an interactive map that shows the concentration of first mortgage defaults, using data provided by Equifax and Moody's Economy.com.

The interactive map allows viewers to see at a glance what zip codes have been hit the hardest by mortgage defaults. The accompanying tables list the number of defaults for each zip code and for each community in Rhode Island. (Communities with no defaults have been omitted.) The tables can be sorted by zip code, number of defaults, percentage change and more by clicking on the appropriate column heading.

The foreclosure crisis, which has been one of the major causes of the financial turmoil in the U.S. and elsewhere, has become a primary concern for President Barack Obama. On Wednesday, Mr. Obama outlined a federal plan to help stem foreclosures.

Community leaders in Rhode Island gave President Obama generally good marks on his proposals.

 Tags  mortgage President Barack Obama Providence

Comments

Thomas Mann said:

This article is based on some easily accessible data. I'd like to see further study to identify correlations in neighborhoods with high mortgage defaults with access to mass transportation, median wage, perceptions of neighborhoods, and geographical proximity to walkable amenities, schools, etc.

I suspect that neighborhoods like the east side that have a mix of quality housing, restaurants, shops, education, and well maintained streets don't have as a big a problem as distressed neighborhoods that don't receive enough attention from municipal government.

We need good data like this to identify trends and focus investment where it can do the most good.

Link | February 19, 2009 1:02 PM
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