The Rhode Island Housing HelpCenter is a winner of a 2009 Justice Award in the category of Consumer Protection. The awards are given in recognition of an extraordinary commitment to justice exhibited by members of the community.  Richard Godfrey, Executive Director of Rhode Island Housing stated Rhode Island Housing has seen over 5,000 Rhode Islanders in the HelpCenter.  Rhode Island Housing works with its partners to bring free workshops to communities throughout the state.  Trained counselors provide advice, education, resources and referrals free of charge to assist homeowners in understanding the options now available to those in need of housing help. In addition, in partnership  the FDIC, The Housing Network of Rhode Island, and the Attorney General’s Office, the HelpCenter also participated in a free seminar to alert Rhode Islanders of the scams currently plaguing Rhode Island and raise awareness of the available resources and recourse in the public and non-profit sectors.

This Week’s Real Estate Insight:

Rhode Island Housing is a self-sustaining public agency, which generates its own operating income, without state funding. Everything the agency earns is reinvested to meet the needs of the state. Together with its partners, the agency works to ensure that all people who live and work in Rhode Island can afford a safe, healthy home that meets their needs. Rhode Island Housing provides low-interest loans, grants, education, advocacy and consumer counseling to help its customers rent, buy and retain their homes. It also offers special programs to ensure that these homes are safe and healthy

The number of foreclosure notices filed in Rhode Island in January declined almost 13 percent compared with a year earlier. According to a report released last Thursday by RealtyTrac, one out of every 696 homes in Rhode Island received a foreclosure notice in January  filings are also 5% lower than December. Nationally, one in every 409 homes received a foreclosure notice in January, up 15 percent from a year earlier but down 10 percent from December, RealtyTrac said.

According to RealtyTrac Chief Executive James J. Saccacio January’s  numbers are  very similar to a year ago  a double-digit jump in December followed by a 10 percent drop in January.  “If history repeats itself we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs or the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives work,” he said.

This comes on some the heels of some promising end of year statistics, overall foreclosure filings in Rhode Island decreased 23 percent in 2009 compared with the prior year.

This Week’s Real Estate Insight:

While we still have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, Rhode Island does seem to be bucking the trends for foreclosure filings. Nationally,  Rhode Island accounted for less than 1 percent of the foreclosure filings reported nationwide in 2009 and  total U.S. activity increased more than 21 percent over the level reported for all of 2008.