San Joaquin Foreclosures Triple

From the Tracy Press:

Mortgage foreclosures have tripled in San Joaquin County during the past year, making this one of the leading areas in the nation where people default on home loans. A national consumer group blames the increase in "sub-prime" loans approved as home prices skyrocketed the past few years. These types of loans - adjustable rate mortgages, interest-only loans and minimum-payment loans - often go to people who seek home ownership despite bad credit or lack of steady income.
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The [C]enter [for Responsible Lending] ranks San Joaquin County as seventh among 378 metropolitan areas in the U.S. for the percentage of homeowners who will default on these loans. It predicts that 23.4 percent of these loans in the county will end in foreclosure. Six other areas in the state are in the top 10, with Merced and Bakersfield topping the list.
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The number of actual foreclosures in San Joaquin County this year increased sharply in January and again in October. RealtyTrac, an Irvine-based company that tracks foreclosures in California, shows that foreclosures in San Joaquin County have tripled from last year. The company reported 1,228 foreclosures in the second quarter of 2006, compared with 374 for the third quarter in 2005. The foreclosure rate decreased in the third quarter, but will be higher for the fourth quarter. In November alone, 594 loans were in default compared with 139 for the same month last year.