Foreclosures Rise as Arizona Residents Default on Mortgage Loans

The number of foreclosures in Maricopa County increased by 10 percent in October, according to Default Research.

“Our company has been tracking foreclosure numbers in [the Arizona housing market] since 2004,” said Serdar Bankaci, president and chief executive officer of Default Research, Inc. “Unfortunately the trend has been rather consistent – foreclosure rates have been going up for the past three years.”

This month is no different.

Bankaci says higher mortgage interest rates are the main culprit for the escalating foreclosure rates. In fact, with the rising adjustable rate mortgages - combined with minimal appreciation and mounting home inventories - he doesn’t see a slowdown in the foreclosure activity any time soon.

Bankaci also predicts increased activity on the Default Research database from clients in Arizona.

“The proof is in the numbers from our redesigned database. Default Research is now the leading provider of foreclosure data in the state,” said Bankaci, who just unveiled a revolutionary Web site to deliver the freshest leads in the foreclosure business even faster.

“With our constantly improving foreclosure database, we are the number one too for investors, credit counseling agencies and lenders who want to be the first to approach homeowners in distress.”

Many of them face this problem because they took out a bad credit mortgage under pressure to own property. Now, years later, rates are resetting and monthly payments are no longer affordable.