June 17, 2009
Wednesday

Housing experts across the nation are comparing housing woes and foreclosure rates to those of the Great Depression. But you don't have to be an octogenarian to remember such hard times for the Alaska housing market. The recent spate of foreclosures in the national headlines may remind a few sourdoughs of the late 1980s bust in Alaska when jobs were slashed, entire residential blocks were turned over to the banks and more than 8 percent of the state's population fled to the Lower 48.

Click on graphic to view a larger image. Graphic courtesy TRENDS

According to Alaska Economic TRENDS, a magazine published by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the national credit collapse will ripple through the Alaska economy in unpredictable ways, but despite weaknesses in other markets around the country, Alaska's housing market has so far shown resilience compared to the nation as a whole by many indicators, particularly foreclosure rates. Alaska foreclosure rates have remained low compared to the nation's, owing to the health of the state's housing market and its economy as a whole.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development collects foreclosure data based on public records. An analysis of the numbers dating back to 1980 revealed that there were 1,131 foreclosures in Alaska in 2008, a 36 percent increase from 2007.

The increase in the number of foreclosures in 2008 was largely driven by the Anchorage and Palmer Recording Districts. The Anchorage Recording District had 458 foreclosures in 2008, 152 more foreclosures than in 2007. The Palmer Recording District had 275 foreclosures in 2008, 88 more than 2007.

Outside Southcentral Alaska, the foreclosure picture is prettier. The Fairbanks Recording District had only nine more foreclosures in 2008 than the prior year. The Juneau Recording District had only one more foreclosure in 2008 than it did the year before.

The number of foreclosures fell in 2008 in the Kenai, Ketchikan and Kodiak Recording Districts.

On the Web:

Download and read the entire article: Alaska Economic Trends: March 2009
Alaska's Residential Forclosures by Caroline Schultz, Economist
http://www.labor.state.ak.us/trends/mar09.pdf

Source of News:

Alaska Department of Labor & Workforce Development
www.labor.state.ak.us

 

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