The pace of Fayetteville foreclosures shot up from no ranking in 2008 to 33rd in a ranking of the 203 largest metro areas in 2009 based on foreclosure rates provided by a California-based foreclosure research firm.
In a ranking of 100 metro areas in 2008 by the same research firm, the Arkansas city of Fayetteville did not appear, indicating that during the first year of the foreclosure crisis, the city was largely insulated from the housing meltdown.
The only Arkansas metro area that appeared on the list of 100 foreclosure-ridden cities in 2008 was the Little Rock and North Little Rock area, which ranked 54th.
Over the years from 2004 to 2008, Fayetteville, which is the administrative center of Washington County, was repeatedly named as one of the best cities to live and work by different lifestyle and business magazines.
It was named as the seventh best city to live, work and play by Kiplinger’s in 2008; the eighth best metro for careers and business in 2007 by Forbes; and included in the best city listings by Money Magazine, Lifestyle Magazine and the second edition of 50 Fabulous Places to Retire in America.
It is also known for the track and field program of the University of Arkansas, which has already won 42 U.S. championships.
Now, Fayetteville would become also known for its foreclosure listing growth.
In 2009, the rate of Fayetteville foreclosures soared to 3.77 percent, higher than the nationwide rate. One home out of every 27 homes in the area fell into default or foreclosure last year. The 2009 rate marked an increase of 31.7 percent from 2008 and a staggering jump of 336.6 from 2007.
All in all, 6,912 households in the Fayetteville, Springdale and Rogers metro area were given notices of delinquency or foreclosure in 2009.
The pace of Arkansas foreclosures also stepped up in 2009, putting the state 23rd in a ranking of U.S. states based on foreclosure rate. One house out of every 78 houses or a total of 16,547 houses in the state fell into delinquency or foreclosure in 2009. The 2009 pace marked a jump of 16 percent from 2008 and a high jump of 158 percent from 2007.
Just like in other metro areas, the increased pace of Fayetteville foreclosures was largely caused by job loss and income reduction. The jobless rate in Arkansas increased in December 2009 to 7.7 percent from 7.4 percent in the previous month.
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