N.J. Towns With Worst Foreclosure Rates - Is Your Town Here?

By TOM DAVIS and ERIC KIEFER

After conducting its October market report, housing data provider RealtyTrac has some bad news for homeowners across New Jersey.

Homeowners may be struggling with foreclosure again.

According to RealtyTrac, a company that keeps track of foreclosure rates, 115,134 foreclosure filings were reported across the nation in October, an increase of 6 percent from September.

However, in New Jersey, the increase was more than double the national mark, jumping about 15 percent from last month’s totals. New Jersey’s foreclosure rate of one in every 471 housing units was the second-highest in America for October, RealtyTrac stated.

More than 60 N.J. towns are among the 500 towns with the highest foreclosure rates in the country, out of more than 10,000 communities (see lists below - communities with no foreclosure filings were not included).

RealtyTrac also rated “metro areas” - areas that have more than 200,000 people - and determined that the “Atlantic City-Hammonton” metro area had the worst foreclosure rate in the country in October. One in every 257 houses was in foreclosure. Trenton was number three.

“The six percent monthly increase in overall foreclosure activity was caused primarily by a 12 percent monthly jump in foreclosure starts, with 48,605 properties starting the foreclosure process for the first time in October,” the company stated in a release. “The October monthly increase was the largest month-over-month increase since August 2011, when there was a 24 percent month-over-month increase.”

Many Jersey Shore communities appeared on the list; Ginny Walker, a spokesperson for RealtyTrac, said that many foreclosures of homes that were damaged in Superstorm Sandy took three years to complete.

Properties repossessed by lenders (REO) in New Jersey were one of the harshest indicators of housing struggles in the state, increasing about 275 percent from a year ago, RealtyTrac stated. In addition, scheduled foreclosure auctions increased 17 percent in New Jersey from October of 2014.

The housing market is tough for renters too, according to a recent study. In July, the National Low Income Housing Coalition stated that a person working at the state minimum wage of $8.38 would need to work 100 hours a week to be able to afford a “modest, 1-bedroom apartment.”

Although up to 34 percent of Garden State residents rent their homes, New Jersey is the 5th most expensive place to do so, the coalition’s study claims.

Below is the list of 100 communities New Jersey communities with the highest foreclosure rates. The number signifies the ratio (example: one out of every 49 houses in Hibernia had a foreclosure filing in October). The list below that is the towns with highest raw totals.

National rankings in parenthesis, if the town fell within the top 200 nationally:

1. Hibernia 49 (17th nationally)
2. Hancocks Bridge 68 (26th nationally)
3. Dorchester 83 (46th nationally)
4. Leesburg 99 (62nd nationally)
5. Keansburg 100 (63rd nationally)
6. Willingboro 105 (68th nationally)
7. Dorothy 120 (90th nationally)
8. Lawnside 124 (101st nationally)
9. Pleasantville 131 (106th nationally)
10. Browns Mills 147 (129th nationally)
11. Sewaren 148 (132nd nationally)
12. Vernon 154 (tied 138th nationally)
13. Pennsauken 154 (tied 138th nationally)
14. Sicklerville 162 (147th nationally)
15. Roselle 163 (150th nationally)
16. Mays Landing 176 (177th nationally)
17. Egg Harbor Township 176 (tied for 179th nationally)
18. Palmyra 178 (tied for 179th nationally)
19. Gloucester City 180 (187th nationally)
20. Magnolia 182 (195th nationally)
21. Clementon 183
22. Salem 184
23. Forked River (section of Lacey Township) 185
24. Absecon 185
25. Berlin 185
26. Mount Holly 189
27. Glendora 193
28. Lakehurst 194
29. Newtonville 195
30. Hillside 198
31. Hopatcong 202
32. Landing 203
33. Burlington 205
34. Pemberton 206
35. Plainfield 207
36. Port Reading 207
37. Greenwich 209
38. Chatsworth 210
39. Landisville 211
40. Hewitt 214
41. Tuckerton 215
42. Newfield 220
43. Franklinville 220
44. Clayton 221
45. Highland Lakes 225
46. Merchantville 226
47. National Park 227
48. Port Elizabeth 231
49. Egg Harbor City 233
50. New Gretna 246
51. Lanoka Harbor (section of Lacey Township) 246
52. Swedesboro 251
53. Carteret 253
54. Williamstown 255
55. Beverly 255
56. Riverside 257
57. Mine Hill 260
58. Barrington 266
59. Pequannock 267
60. Vauxhall 271
61. Atco 272
62. Vineland 273
63. Oaklyn 275
64. Linden 276
65. Rahway 280
66. Northfield 280
67. Roosevelt 281
68. Waterford Works 282
69. Woodbine 283
70. Brick 284
71. Howell 288
72. Clarksburg 288
73. Lake Hopatcong 289
74. Highlands 295
75. Keyport 297
76. Manville 298
77. Oakhurst 299
78. Minotola 300
79. Atlantic City 301
80. Bound Brook 303
81. Bayville 304
82. South River 305
83. Sussex 306
84. Spotswood 306
85. Bellmawr 309
86. Somerdale 309
87. Ledgewood 310
88. Pennsville1 310
89. Barnegat 315
90. Millville 315
91. Gibbstown 315
92. Cream Ridge 318
93. Monroeville 318
94. Glen Gardner 320
95. Milmay 320
96. Westville 321
97. Hazlet 321
98. Trenton 325
99. Mountain Lakes 326

100. Ogdensburg 327

Total numbers:

1. Trenton 323 (30th nationally)
2. Newark 228 (50th nationally)
3. Jersey City 167 (76th nationally)
4. Toms River 154 (83rd nationally)
5. Plainfield 117 (109th nationally
6. Sicklerville 114 (111th nationally)
7. Brick 114 (112th nationally)
8. Willingboro 109 (120th nationally)
9. Clementon 109 (122nd nationally)
10. Paterson 109 (123rd nationally)
11. Elizabeth 102 (132nd nationally)
12. Egg Harbor Township 88 (167th nationally)
13. Vineland 84 (184th nationally)
14. East Orange 82 (191st nationally)
15. Absecon 80 (199th nationally)
16. Camden 73
17. Atlantic City 70
18. Irvington 67
19. Mays Landing 63
20. Burlington 62
21. Linden 60
22. Keansburg 59
23. Tuckerton 59
24. Williamstown 58
25. Union 57
26. Roselle 55
27. Pleasantville 54
28. Browns Mills 53
29. Clifton 52
30. Cherry Hill 51
31. Mount Holly 50
32. Jackson 50
33. Forked River (section of Lacey Township) 47
34. Neptune 47
35. Millville 46
36. Howell 45
37. Riverside 44
38. Bridgeton 44
39. Englishtown 43
40. Pennsauken 42
41. Bayonne 41
42. Merchantville 40
43. Rahway 40
44. Perth Amboy 40
45. Marlton 40
46. Mount Laurel 40
47. Somerset 40
48. Woodbury 39
49. Bloomfield 39
50. Hillside 38
51. North Bergen 38
52. Freehold 37
53. Wildwood 37
54. Union City 37
55. Manahawkin 35
56. Sewell 35
57. Old Bridge 35
58. Orange 34
59. Long Branch 34
60. Carteret 33
61. Blackwood (section of Gloucester Township) 33
62. Manchester Township 33
63. Edison 33
64. Barnegat 32
65. New Brunswick 32
66. Lakewood 32
67. Gloucester City 30
68. West Orange 30
69. Piscataway 30
70. Bayville (section of Berkeley Township) 29
71. Teaneck 28
72. Salem 27
73. Swedesboro 27
74. Middletown 27
75. Newton 27
76. Phillipsburg 27
77. Belleville 27
78. Passaic 27
79. Berlin 26
80. Hopatcong 26
81. Keyport 26
82. Sussex 26
83. Cape May 26
84. Monroe Township 26
85. West New York 26
86. Hammonton 25
87. Vincentown 25
88. Hackensack 25
89. Voorhees 24
90. Hillsborough 24
91. East Brunswick 24
92. Egg Harbor City 23
93. Oaklyn 23
94. South Amboy 23
95. Englewood 23
96. Bordentown 22
97. Hightstown 22
98. Matawan 22
99. North Brunswick 22

100. Asbury Park 22