From Housing Haven to Foreclosure Leader

2007 August 13

Once considered a safe alternative to the overheated Bay Area real estate market, Stockton and its streets are now filled with “For Sale” signs and evidence of foreclosures.

While hundreds of thousands of people nationwide are being affected by troubles in the lending market, Stockton has the highest foreclosure rate of any city in the country, according to RealtyTrac, a real estate data firm.

The north end of Clarks Fork Circle in Stockton tells you all you need to know about the depth of the mortgage worries here. On a curve in a handsome new residential development, four of five homes are for sale, at least two of which have already been repossessed by a lender.

“Bank Owned!” advertises a flier for one home. “New Low Price!” shouts a sign planted in a different lawn.

“It is disturbing, there’s no question about it,” said Mayor Edward J. Chavez, who himself has two houses on the market, with no sales in sight. “A year to two years back, this area was seen as being affordable compared to other areas, the Bay Area, the South Bay. But what was once a vibrant market has kind of hit a brick wall.”

“It’s gone from the most liberal financing I’ve ever seen a few years ago to the most foreclosures and delinquencies I’ve ever seen now,” said Art Godi, 71, a longtime Stockton real estate agent and the former president of the National Association of Realtors. “And there’s a connection between those two things, obviously.”

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