Debt: The biggest worry in America’s urban population
Plummeting house prices and over-leveraged borrowing are common-place scenarios in most of America’s cities. According to first-quarter data from TransUnion, a credit-reporting company, seven of the 10 most credit-delinquent cities in the U.S. exceed the national average by two or three times.
In Stockton, California, 8.87% of borrowers were 60 days behind on their loan payments in the first three months of 2008. Laredo in Texas is the top debt-burdened city for auto loan delinquencies at 2.2%. Pine Bluff in Arkansas has the most number of people behind on their credit cards, at 2.28%.
Filings for foreclosure leapt 55% in July, compared with 2007, and increased by 8% since June, according to RealtyTrac. Across the country, more than 272,000 homes received foreclosure notices this July.
Central California is under the spotlight, as the nation’s second-highest state for foreclosure rates behind Nevada, according to RealtyTrac.