BOSTON

AS AMERICA’S housing sector is well into what appears to be the 10th straight quarter of decline in residential-housing investment, coupled with a continued fall in housing prices and the disruption of credit availability, the impact on New England ripples from Connecticut to Maine.

Several New England states have tightened their regulation of the mortgage industry, while the Federal Reserve has taken unprecedented action to intercede in the broader national financial markets.

It has been a particular source of pride, however, to see the New England leadership in both chambers of Congress in creative efforts to create remedies for both homeowners in default and the lenders who lose out financially through foreclosure. The Senate and House committees with primary jurisdiction over housing issues are both chaired by New Englanders — Sen. Chris Dodd (D.-Conn.) and Rep. Barney Frank (D.-Mass.). And they have had strong support among other New England congressional players serving on the House Financial Services Committee — U.S. Representatives Michael Capuano (D.- Mass.), Paul Hodes (D.-N.H.), Stephen Lynch (D.-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D.-Conn.) and Christopher Shays (R.-Conn.), while Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed also serves on the Senate Banking Committee.

These New Englanders have served as trailblazers in dealing with an unprecedented disruption in the nation’s housing markets. Both committees have crafted comprehensive, bipartisan legislation designed to reduce foreclosure risk and all of its far-reaching consequences. The work has been marked by an exceptional spirit of compromise as both committees work to develop coalitions of support in dealing with this housing crisis, which is having an enormous impact on our region.

In New England, loan-default and foreclosure rates have surged. In Connecticut, foreclosure filings through the first quarter of 2008 increased 303 percent from the like period in 2007. In Massachusetts for the same period, foreclosure filings increased 140 percent. In New Hampshire, 2008 filings are projected to increase 200 percent from 2007. Rhode Island, for its part, had a 282 percent increase in foreclosure filings in the first quarter of 2008 from a year earlier. Like the other states in the region, Maine and Vermont are suffering from reduced credit availability, falling home prices and weak wage growth — fallout from the regional and nationwide crisis.

By defaulting on mortgage payments and losing their homes to foreclosure, borrowers and their families suffer tremendous hardships. Their credit is often irreparably damaged, making it more difficult to relocate and often resulting in personal bankruptcy. Lenders suffer since the resale value of the home is less than the original loan amount. Foreclosure itself takes a year and a half to complete and costs the lender an average of $59,000.

Cities and towns suffer from the loss of property-tax revenue caused by a reduction in assessed value — studies indicate that homes within an eighth of a mile of a foreclosure see a 1 percent decline in value — and the overall negative image caused by multiple foreclosures. Recent Federal Reserve Bank of Boston research indicates that the current wave of foreclosures in the region has a disproportionate effect on multi-family housing units, which are often concentrated in low-income neighborhoods, spawning blocks of foreclosed properties in the most vulnerable communities.

And the far-reaching negative impact on our economy, as we have learned, affects everyone. That said, New England has strengths as well. Recent reports suggest that our region is home to a number of the nation’s most stable real-estate markets. And with a congressional delegation in strategic leadership positions and working hard through the legislative process to help cure the nation’s housing woes, we look forward to better days ahead.

James T. Brett is president and chief executive of the New England Council.