projoHomes
R.I. cities in region’s top 10 for foreclosure
09:48 AM EST on Sunday, February 15, 2009
Central Falls had the highest rate of property foreclosures in Southern New England last year and Providence had the third highest, according to a Providence Journal analysis of data from the Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate consulting firm.
Central Falls land records show 56.9 foreclosures for every 1,000 residential properties, according to the Warren Group data. Lawrence, Mass., came in second, with 47.1, and Providence had 45.8.
Bridgeport, Conn., with a rate of 21.3, is not among the 10 highest in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Warren Group cautioned, however, that data from Connecticut’s largest city was incomplete. Bridgeport’s actual rate is probably higher and could be at or near the top of the list.
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Boston as a whole had less than a quarter of the rate of foreclosures as Providence, at 10.9. Even the Hub’s hardest hit neighborhoods, Dorchester and Mattapan, were well below Providence, at 32.4 and 23.7, respectively.
The places with the 10 highest foreclosure rates were all cities and all industrial centers past their heydays.
After Central Falls, Lawrence and Providence were:
New London, Conn., 33.1; Chelsea, Mass., 26.5; Lynn, Mass., 25.9; Brockton, Mass., 24.9; Pawtucket, 24.1; Fitchburg, Mass., 22.3, and New Haven, Conn., 21.4.
Other notable New England cities not in the Top 10 included Worcester, 20.1, and Hartford, 17.4.
The Warren group counted foreclosure deeds filed in the land records in the three states and supplied those counts, along with the total number of residential properties for each community, to The Journal. The newspaper used those figures to calculate the rates of foreclosures per 1,000 residential properties.
In terms of the total number of foreclosures, Providence led the way in Southern New England with 1,447, followed by Boston, with 1,252, and Worcester, with 765.
The remainder of the Top 10 were:
Springfield, Mass., 670; Bridgeport, Conn., 549; Brockton, Mass., 545; Lynn, Mass., 485; Lawrence, Mass., 469; Waterbury, Conn., 462, and New Haven, Conn., 432.
Pawtucket was 11th on that list, with 384. Cranston was 14th, with 293. Warwick was 20th, with 184. Central Falls was 25th, 125.
| Southern New England foreclosure rates | ||||
| Foreclosures hit Southern New England’s older industrial cities especially hard last year. Below are the top 50 cities and towns in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut ranked by the rate of foreclosures per 1,000 residential properties. Data for Bridgeport, Conn., is incomplete and the actual number of foreclosures and rate are probably higher than shown. | ||||
| Foreclosed | Properties | Rate | ||
| 1 | Central Falls | 125 | 2,196 | 56.9 |
| 2 | Lawrence, Mass. | 469 | 9,954 | 47.1 |
| 3 | Providence | 1,447 | 31,561 | 45.8 |
| 4 | New London, Conn. | 181 | 5,462 | 33.1 |
| 5 | Chelsea, Mass. | 128 | 4,828 | 26.5 |
| 6 | Lynn, Mass. | 485 | 18,708 | 25.9 |
| 7 | Brockton, Mass. | 545 | 21,885 | 24.9 |
| 8 | Pawtucket | 384 | 15,944 | 24.1 |
| 9 | Fitchburg, Mass. | 219 | 9,807 | 22.3 |
| 10 | New Haven, Conn. | 432 | 20,183 | 21.4 |
| 11 | Bridgeport, Conn. | 549 | 25,749 | 21.3 |
| 12 | Southbridge, Mass. | 78 | 3,779 | 20.6 |
| 13 | Worcester | 765 | 38,018 | 20.1 |
| 14 | Hyannis, Mass. | 127 | 6,430 | 19.8 |
| 15 | Springfield, Mass. | 670 | 35,280 | 19.0 |
| 16 | Athol, Mass. | 71 | 3,795 | 18.7 |
| 17 | Everett, Mass. | 142 | 7,763 | 18.3 |
| 18 | Lowell, Mass. | 368 | 21,139 | 17.4 |
| 19 | Hartford | 286 | 16,475 | 17.4 |
| 20 | Waterbury, Conn. | 462 | 27,426 | 16.8 |
| 21 | Revere, Mass. | 185 | 11,297 | 16.4 |
| 22 | Winchendon, Mass. | 49 | 3,073 | 15.9 |
| 23 | Plainfield, Conn. | 68 | 4,294 | 15.8 |
| 24 | Warren, Mass. | 23 | 1,456 | 15.8 |
| 25 | Marlborough, Mass. | 157 | 10,172 | 15.4 |
| 26 | New Bedford, Mass. | 306 | 20,104 | 15.2 |
| 27 | Orange, Mass. | 35 | 2,368 | 14.8 |
| 28 | Fall River, Mass. | 228 | 15,504 | 14.7 |
| 29 | N. Brookfield, Mass. | 21 | 1,456 | 14.4 |
| 30 | Millville, Mass. | 14 | 994 | 14.1 |
| 31 | Woonsocket | 115 | 8,195 | 14.0 |
| 32 | Gardner, Mass. | 74 | 5,285 | 14.0 |
| 33 | Hampton, Conn. | 7 | 513 | 13.6 |
| 34 | Randolph, Mass. | 123 | 9,082 | 13.5 |
| 35 | New Braintree, Mass. | 4 | 307 | 13.0 |
| 36 | Putnam, Conn. | 34 | 2,661 | 12.8 |
| 37 | New Britain, Conn. | 188 | 15,039 | 12.5 |
| 38 | Cranston | 293 | 24,284 | 12.1 |
| 39 | Haverhill, Mass. | 208 | 17,300 | 12.0 |
| 40 | Meriden, Conn. | 204 | 17,041 | 12.0 |
| 41 | Webster, Mass. | 57 | 4,849 | 11.8 |
| 42 | Sprague, Conn. | 10 | 862 | 11.6 |
| 43 | Malden, Mass. | 132 | 11,668 | 11.3 |
| 44 | Milford, Mass. | 92 | 8,189 | 11.2 |
| 45 | Killingly, Conn. | 61 | 5,440 | 11.2 |
| 46 | E. Brookfield, Mass. | 9 | 815 | 11.0 |
| 47 | Colebrook, Conn. | 6 | 545 | 11.0 |
| 48 | Clinton, Mass. | 42 | 3,834 | 11.0 |
| 49 | Framingham, Mass. | 189 | 17,377 | 10.9 |
| 50 | Boston | 1,252 | 115,226 | 10.9 |
| SOURCE: The Warren GroupTHE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL | ||||
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