Bankruptcy Filings Up 31% in 2008; Mortgage Foreclosures Hit New High
Bankruptcy and foreclosure litigation are likely to remain hot practice areas as the economy continues its free fall and housing values plummet. Newly released statistics show a 31 percent increase in bankruptcy filings in 2008, compared to the previous calendar year, and mortgage delinquencies are at an all-time high.
Mortgage delinquencies have now risen to 7.88 percent of all loans, the highest figure ever during the more than 35 years that the Mortgage Bankers Association has been keeping records, reports Bloomberg. Loans in foreclosure also hit an all-time high of 3.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reports in a press release today that there were 1,117,771 bankruptcy filings in 2008, a 31 percent increase over 2007. Nonbusiness bankruptcies account for the vast majority of this total.
Last year’s bankruptcies are by no means a record, however. Total filings exceeded 2 million in 2005, as those who expected to file raced to do so before new federal bankruptcy legislation less favorable to debtors took effect.
