The impact of the thousands of properties under list of VA foreclosures and bank foreclosures on the housing market of California is not aided by high unemployment rates in most counties of the state. In Santa Barbara County, unemployment rose to 9.2% in July 2010.
The state remains one of the areas with the highest rates of foreclosures all over the U.S., with Los Angeles home foreclosures and foreclosed property numbers in other local areas all contributing to the statewide problem. This concern is further weighed down by the fact that several areas in California have unemployment rates that are higher than the state's average of 12.3%.
Although Santa Barbara account for a significant percentage of home foreclosures in California, the county's unemployment rate is actually one of the lowest among all counties and cities in the state. The 9.2% unemployment rate of the county for July is lower than the national rate of 9.5%, but represents a 0.50% increase compared with June 2010 and a 0.7% increase when compared with July 2009.
On top of rising number of properties under list of VA foreclosures and bank foreclosure listings, the county also added 700 to the total number of jobs lost in July 2010 compared with the previous month's total. The rise in job losses is expected to contribute to the foreclosure rate of the area, although the county's unemployment statistics are relatively better than most counties of California.
According to local authorities, the high number of properties under home foreclosure listings is mainly due to the recession. They added that although the Santa Barbara unemployment average is much better than other local areas, there is no denying that the county still needs jobs and it needs these immediately.
Statewide, the highest rate of unemployment has been posted in Lompoc at 16%, with Guadalupe claiming second place at 15.5% and Santa Maria rounding up the top three at 14.2%. In terms of lowest unemployment rates, most South Coast areas are in good condition, with Solvang recording the lowest average for July at 3.5%.
According to local real estate market analysts, the number of properties under bank foreclosures and under list of VA foreclosures will decline only when unemployment rates also record significant drops in key areas of the state.
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