Oregon Public Broadcasting

Home ownership in Oregon took a tumble in the first month of the new year. April Baer reports that foreclosures are up in some key markets.

Print reports suggested this week that the national default rate for borrowers with basic FHA loans rose to nine percent in December.

Now, a review of foreclosure rates for January shows more trouble, starting in Central Oregon.

The 400 foreclosures recorded there are the highest the county has seen in three years of real estate misery– up almost 200 percent from January of last year.  

It appears this wave of failed mortgages is a bit different than the losses that drove the first wave of the crash.

Many of the homes in default are independent addresses – not resulting from one developer’s failure with dozens of properties in a subdivision.

Oregon’s most populous counties are faring a little better, but are still seeing steep increases.

Washington County’s foreclosures jumped from 375 in December to 410 last month.

In Multnomah County officials say foreclosure filings surged in January to 620 -- the highest in a 12-month period. Over the last two years, they have increased 150%.