Residential Foreclosures in the City of Buffalo, 1990-2000 - Federal ...

Chapter 3: Foreclosure Trends and Spatial Analysis
Foreclosures rose during the 1990s throughout Buffalo. But some areas saw larger
increases than others and foreclosure rates were not constant across neighborhoods, with
some experiencing more significant changes. This chapter outlines the changes in
foreclosures during the 1990s and puts them in geographic perspective. Section I looks at
the general trend in foreclosures, while Section II examines their spatial distribution.
I. The Trend in Foreclosures
Chart 3 shows residential foreclosures in Buffalo for each year from 1990 to 2000. The
annual number of foreclosures grew slowly early in the decade and then rose rapidly after
1994, resulting in a 135 percent increase over only a three-year period. By the end of the
decade, the trend seemed to be leveling off, but foreclosures had increased more than 280
percent over the ten-year period. Rochester’s pattern differed from Buffalo’s to some
degree (Chart 4), with a rapid rise and small decline early in the 1990s. Nevertheless,
Rochester experienced a similar mid-decade rise and a similar overall increase, with
foreclosures growing almost 180 percent from 1990 to 1999. The pattern of foreclosures
seen by Rochester in the early 1990s may reflect the performance of its regional
economy. The Rochester metropolitan area has been undergoing a painful economic
restructuring due to the decline of its photographic equipment and imaging industries.
The loss of many well-paying jobs in these industries—especially during the recession of
the early 1990s—may have triggered foreclosures throughout the metro area, including
the city of Rochester.
16