By Lauren Otis, Staff Writer
Notices of impending home foreclosure have increased in Lawrence Township this year, as well as for Mercer County in general, according to an analysis of records filed with the county clerk’s office.
The increase, also evident in Princeton and West Windsor, suggests that Mercer County’s wealthier enclaves are not immune from the long term effects of the housing crisis and slowing economy.
”I’m not surprised,” said U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, whose 12th Congressional District includes Lawrence, Princeton and West Windsor. “People just a few years ago who were well off are feeling nervous,” in some of his district’s wealthy towns, Mr. Holt said.
The county filings, called “notice lis pendens” or NLPs, are filed by a lender and are the formal notice that starts the foreclosure process. They do not all result in foreclosure but give an indication of troubled mortgages which may lead to foreclosure.
In May, June and July of this year Lawrence had nine, six and seven for a total of 22. For May, June and July 2007 Lawrence recorded three, four and six NLPs respectively for a total of 13.
Princeton Borough and Township had one, four and seven NLPs in May, June and July 2008 respectively, for a total of 12 for the three month period. In May, June and July of last year Princeton recorded zero, two and three NLPs for a total of seven.
West Windsor had three, four and three NLPs respectively for May, June and July 2008, for a total of 10 for the three month period. In 2007, West Windsor had zero, one and one NLPs for May June and July, for a total of two.
For the three-month period in 2008, West Windsor and Princeton combined to report 22 NLPs, up from seven reported in the same period in 2007. A total of 478 NLPs were reported for Mercer County as a whole during the three-month period in 2008, up from 287 NLPs reported for the same three months in 2007.
”Certainly the numbers in Princeton, in West Windsor and Lawrence are smaller than other places in the county but it is still troubling,” said Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes of the uptick in foreclosure proceedings.
Ellen Affel, a realtor with Keller Williams’ Princeton-area office, based in West Windsor, and president-elect of the Mercer County Association of Realtors said in the higher price range for homes and in the wealthier communities in the county neither she nor her colleagues had seen any mortgage troubles.
”I’m sure some people got in over their head, it’s not unusual,” Ms. Affel said, adding, “I see a healthy market right now. You’ve got to have corrections, and this may not even be a bad one.”
”We are in a sideways market right now,” Ms. Affel said, but added that it was still a very robust market in the area.
”My high-end buyers have not had a problem getting mortgages — they are savvy shoppers,” Ms. Affel said. “They (buyers) understand we are probably at the low (in prices) and interest rates are not going to go any lower, and typically those don’t hit a low at the same time so the smart buyers are out there signing contracts and the inventory is shrinking,” she said.
An April 2008 report by the Pew Charitable Trusts projected that one in 37 New Jersey homeowners will face foreclosure, primarily in the next two years, as a result of subprime loans made in 2005 and 2006, slightly better than the U.S. average of one in 33 homeowners.
Earlier this month the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a study of New Jersey’s subprime mortgages in foreclosure, and found the state to have the nation’s fifth highest ratio, behind Florida, California, Nevada and Illinois. The New York Fed study listed the 10 worst hit counties in the state, but Mercer County was not among them.
”A lot of subprime loans were taken out in Mercer County but I don’t think we are anywhere near the top,” in New Jersey, Mr. Hughes said.
Affluent parts of the county, where homebuyers were able to make 10 to 20 percent down-payments and obtain more traditional mortgages, have been insulated from the subprime and non-traditional mortgage crisis as a result, Mr. Hughes said. Mercer County homes have maintained their values better than others because of their proximity to transit to New York and Philadelphia, as well as the resilience of the local economy and a number of other factors, he said.
