Changing Nature Of NYC Foreclosure Crisis: Affected Renters In Multi-Family Buildings On Upswing

In New York City, Crain's New York Business reports:

• The housing crisis continues to take a toll on multifamily rental properties in the city, with Brooklyn being one of the boroughs the hardest hit. Multifamily rental properties with five or more units, buildings that house nearly half of all New Yorkers, drew more foreclosure notices in the last two years than any period since the early 1990s, according to a Tuesday report. New York University's Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy published the report, “State of New York City's Housing and Neighborhoods 2010.”
• “What struck us was the changing nature of the foreclosure crisis in the city,” said Ingrid Ellen, faculty co-director of the center. “People talk mostly about single-family housing, but we're seeing a rise in the number of multifamily properties that are seeing foreclosures.”
• In the past five years, more than 2,100 multifamily rental properties received foreclosure notices, potentially affecting more than 44,000 households, according to the report.

***

• The impact of such findings is widespread, affecting both tenants, who may have to vacate the foreclosed buildings, and the community. “Physical conditions are deteriorating in these buildings that are distressed,” Ms. Ellen said.
• Those buildings receive an average of 21% more violations during the quarter when the formal notice is filed, and 15% more violations during the two quarters before and after a foreclosure notice compared to all other quarters. “Collectively, it's very costly if these buildings go to foreclosure.”

For more, see Foreclosure crisis shifts to multifamily buildings (Report says more than 2,100 multifamily rental properties received foreclosure notices, potentially affecting more than 44,000 households; Brooklyn hit hardest).

In related stories, see:

• The Wall Street Journal: More Landlords Not Paying Up,
• New York Daily News: Mortgage dumps put eight Bronx apartment buildings in foreclosure danger.