Real Estate Investment:The Societal Effects of Rising Number of Foreclosures Had Impact on Winnebago County

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With a mere 357 people in every square mile of this county, the societal effects of the rising number of foreclosure homes has had a real impact on this small county. Even in such a tiny area, there are over 100 listings for foreclosure houses in the county.

Job searches for the area will quickly show you that there are very limited employment opportunities here with some advertising agencies having no jobs at all to list, this makes for a disturbing view of future growth prospects for the local economy.

The situation is not as grim as Milwaukee which currently has the nation’s second highest unemployment rates behind Detroit. Winnebago’s unemployment currently stands at 4.1% as at August 2008, which broken down into more detail is around 17,000 people without work.

The connection between unemployment and homes being repossessed is clear for all to see. Manufacturing accounts for 27% of all employment in the county and we can all see the effects that the national recession is having on manufacturing with growth being negative at -0.3% for the last two months.

There is plenty of farm work in the county which undermines the unemployment figure as farmers are on the receiving end of the large supermarket chains reducing their margins for profit. The farmers are suffering increased prices for food and fuel and whilst they are not being made unemployed, they are earning less and less. They cannot afford to close down farms and must ride out the recession, but paying bills and meeting mortgage repayments becomes a huge challenge for some lower paid farm workers.

Many of the property prices in Winnebago have dropped beyond recognition from twelve months ago which also has an effect on foreclosure listings. The property market has become saturated with foreclosure houses and newly built developments. Many foreclosed properties are on the market at booming auctions for as little as ,000, which may be as much as 50% of last year’s price.

The top end of the foreclosure market is only reaching 0,000 which undermines the normal workings of a property market in usual conditions.

When workers are struggling to meet the demands of sub-prime mortgage rate hikes they may consider selling their home, but they will struggle to find a buyer in these depressed economic conditions. In effect, those that cannot meet the banks’ demands are unable to sell their home and are stuck in a position they cannot get out of, until eventually their home is repossessed.

Experts are predicting that the number of foreclosure homes will begin to decrease by the end of the first quarter of next year, so there is hope on the distant horizon for hard working families desperate to meet their mortgage payments and retain their home.

Kevin Simpson, has been working on WisconsinRepoHomes.com studying the foreclosures market, helping buyers on the finer points of Foreclosure Homes. Try to visit WisconsinRepoHomes.com and find all related information about real estate listing.