>Expert: Foreclosure backlog too mighty to be solved by proposed bill
A bill advancing in the Assembly that would use affordable housing funds to purchase foreclosed homes would not address the severity of the foreclosure backlog, an industry expert said.
Jeffrey Otteau, president of Otteau Valuation Group Inc., said there are more than 170,000 homes in the process of foreclosure and more than 188,000 homes with delinquent mortgage payments, while the state estimates that there are between 50,000 and 100,000 homes in foreclosure. If the state were to pay the median price of homes in the fourth quarter of 2011 — which was $249,000 — it would only be able to finance 1,216 foreclosed homes. (Eder, NJBIZ)
