Oct 13, 2008 7:10 pm US/Eastern
Mortgage Crisis Hits Queens Especially Hard
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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The subprime mortgage mess was a key trigger in the economic crisis, and one of the worst-hit areas was in Queens. By one estimate, one-fifth of all foreclosed properties in that borough is in Jamaica.
AP
The subprime mortgage mess was a key trigger in the economic crisis, and one of the worst-hit areas was in Queens. By one estimate, one-fifth of all foreclosed properties in that borough is in Jamaica.
It isn't a pretty site for residents. Gladys Murphy tells CBS 2 she tries not to let the boarded up house by hers on 170th Street bother her, even though it's been that way, and in foreclosure, for more than a year.
"It is an eyesore, it certainly is, but I'm not worried about it because I know to every problem there is an answer," she says.
It's a scenario being played out throughout Jamaica, where the subprime crisis – with high interest rates – has hit hard, forcing many into foreclosure.
Real estate agent Roy Mahadeo says many homeowners in the neighborhood had little choice.
"It's been increasing tremendously," he says. "Seven-hundred-fifty-one people can't pay their mortgage and some people are walking away from it. They'd rather go into foreclosure and go on with their lives because they simply can't afford it."
But not all the news from Jamaica is grim. In fact, experts say it can be the kind of market to buy into.
"There are mortgages out there and there are buyers out there and they're buying and it's a fantastic opportunity for people to buy right now," says real estate expert Todd Yorvino.
Still, only the most qualified buyers are getting mortgages and Mahadeo says as a result, sales are way off.
"My business is pretty much down 50 to 60 percent over the last year or two," he says.
But he says he is hanging in, and believing that what goes down, must come up.
"It's not the end of the world, you can't sit back and cry. Things will get better," he says.
But experts warn that things will first get much worse, that because it takes about two years to foreclose a property in New York, the numbers of foreclosures will significantly jump in the months ahead.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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