Higher Unemployment Means Many More Distressed Properties to Come
Higher Unemployment Means Many More Distressed Properties to Come
A panel meeting today at the Safeguard Properties National Property Preservation Conference in Washington DC shifted gears to address the ?unexpected? jump in unemployment rates.
Unemployment in the United States now stands at 10.2%, somewhat beyond the forecast of economists.
The US Conference of Mayors, a nonpartisan organization that represents cities with populations greater than 30,000, is sending out an industry warning that they expect employment rates to continue to climb in 2010, reaching levels as high as 15% in some municipalities. Servicers in these areas should prepare to face a much heavier distressed asset portfolio as borrowers struggle to cope with lose of income, says Dave Gatton, a director at the firm.
Gatton added that local government received very little amounts of bailout money and will likely not have an infrastructure to support these servicers.
Servicers, investors and regulators will convene later this month in Austin, Texas at a HousingWire-sponsored, invitation-only event ? Distressed Services 2009? to discuss industry challenges posed by the growing presence of distressed properties
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About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 700 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.
