1. Home Foreclosures in the Pioneer Valley Prepared by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission Regional Information & Policy Center July 1, 2010 Summary of Key Findings

2. Foreclosure Rate Comparison In 2008, the Pioneer Valley region’s foreclosure rate was situated well above the Commonwealth’s rate.

3. Geographic distribution of foreclosures showed a trend of high concentration of foreclosures within urban core communities. Foreclosure Density in the Pioneer Valley Region

4. Municipality Rankings by Foreclosure Rate RankGeography 2008 Fore- clos- ures Population # of Housing Units 2008 Foreclosure Rate Pioneer Valley Region1136608479244,5200.46 Hampden County1039456228185,8760.56 Hampshire County9715225158,6440.17 1Springfield670152,08261,1721.10 2Chester51,3085800.86 3Palmer3812,4975,4020.70 4Brimfield93,3391,3960.64 5Plainfield25893110.64 6Blandford31,2145260.57 7Pelham31,4035560.54 8Huntington52,1749350.53 9Ware239,7074,3360.53 10Granville31,5215950.50 11Monson138,3593,2130.40 12Montgomery16542570.39 13Chesterfield21,2015240.38 14Holland52,4071,3170.38 15Wales31,7377960.38 16Goshen29215360.37 17Holyoke5139,83816,2100.31 18Southwick118,8353,5330.31 19Chicopee7554,65324,4240.31 20West Springfield3727,89912,2590.30 21Belchertown1412,9685,0500.28 22Westfield4040,07215,4410.26 23Wilbraham1313,4735,0480.26 24Agawam2928,14411,6590.25 25East Longmeadow1214,1005,3630.22 26Cummington19784520.22 27South Hadley1517,1966,7840.22 28Williamsburg22,4271,0730.19 29Granby46,1322,2950.17 30Russell11,6576410.16 31Ludlow1121,2097,8410.14 32Hatfield23,2491,4310.14 33Longmeadow715,6335,8790.12 34 Middlefield/Worthington**11,8128450.12 35 36Hampden Town25,1711,8460.11 37Southampton25,3872,0250.10 38Northampton1128,97812,4050.09 39Easthampton415,9947,0830.06 40Amherst434,8749,4270.04 41Tolland04264780.00 42Westhampton04,7931,9530.00 43Hadley01,4686230.00

5. Foreclosure Rate Comparison: A Closer Look at the Urban Core When the foreclosure rate is calculated for the PV region’s urban core alone, the rate far exceeds that of the nation as a whole. When the urban core is excluded, the foreclosure rate for the PV region is 0.25%, below the rate for the state.

6. Distribution of Pioneer Valley Region Foreclosures Springfield and Holyoke account for just under of the PV region’s population but nearly of foreclosures in 2008.

7. Distribution of Pioneer Valley Region Block Groups by Foreclosure Rate Category Wide range of difference among the block groups. Of the 450 block groups in the Pioneer Valley region, 76% were ranked below the national foreclosure rate of 0.79 percent.

8. Foreclosure Rate by Unit Density Block groups with higher density of housing units per square mile generally had a higher foreclosure rate.

9. Percent Residents Living Below Poverty Line by Foreclosure Rate Category Block groups falling into the moderate, high, and very high foreclosure rate categories all had higher percentages of residents living below the poverty line.

10. Housing Comparison Among Foreclosure Rate Categories The categories with lower foreclosure rates had relatively fewer vacant units, more owner occupancy, and generally less renter occupancy.

11. Racial Distribution Among Foreclosure Rate Categories Block groups with lower rates of foreclosure had significantly higher percentages of white residents.

12. 2008 in Context of Historical Trends Thus far, 2008 has been the height of the current foreclosure crisis in the Pioneer Valley region, reaching a peak nearly 54% higher than the previous high point in 1997.

13. Municipality Rankings by Foreclosure Rate RankRank Geography Population 2007 Foreclosure Rate 2008 Foreclosure Rate 2009 Foreclosure Rate % Change from 2007 to 2008 % Change from 2008 to 2009 % Change from 2007 to 2009 Pioneer Valley Region6084790.330.460.3739.73%-20.61%10.93% Hampden County4562280.390.560.4342.98%-23.53%9.34% Hampshire County1522510.130.17 29.47%-2.70%25.97% 1Springfield152,0820.811.100.8235.90%-24.93%2.03% 2Chester1,3080.86 0.340.00%-60.00% 3Palmer12,4970.430.700.4365.22%-39.47%0.00% 4Brimfield3,3390.290.64 125.00%0.00%125.00% 5Plainfield5890.000.640.32 -50.00% 6Blandford1,2140.190.570.00200.00%-100.00% 7Pelham1,4030.180.540.00200.00%-100.00% 8Huntington2,1740.320.530.4366.67%-20.00%33.33% 9Ware9,7070.460.530.6515.00%21.74%40.00% 10Granville1,5210.000.500.17 -66.67% 11Monson8,3590.310.400.2230.00%-46.15%-30.00% 12Montgomery6540.000.390.00 -100.00% 13Chesterfield1,2010.38 0.190.00%-50.00% 14Holland2,4070.840.38 -54.55%0.00%-54.55% 15Wales1,7370.130.380.50200.00%33.33%300.00% 16Goshen9210.000.370.00 -100.00% 17Holyoke39,8380.230.310.2834.21%-11.76%18.42% 18Southwick8,8350.110.310.28175.00%-9.09%150.00% 19Chicopee54,6530.170.310.2278.57%-29.33%26.19% 20West Springfield27,8990.190.300.2460.87%-18.92%30.43%

14. Municipality Rankings by Foreclosure Rate Cont. RankRank Geography Population 2007 Foreclosure Rate 2008 Foreclosure Rate 2009 Foreclosure Rate % Change from 2007 to 2008 % Change from 2008 to 2009 % Change from 2007 to 2009 21Belchertown12,9680.240.280.2416.67%-14.29%0.00% 22Westfield40,0720.120.260.30110.53%15.00%142.11% 23Wilbraham13,4730.200.260.1430.00%-46.15%-30.00% 24Agawam28,1440.120.250.10107.14%-58.62%-14.29% 25East Longmeadow14,1000.130.220.2871.43%25.00%114.29% 26Cummington9780.22 0.000.00%-100.00% 27South Hadley17,1960.130.220.2466.67%6.67%77.78% 28Williamsburg2,4270.19 0.000.00%-100.00% 29Granby6,1320.090.17 100.00%0.00%100.00% 30Russell1,6570.470.160.31-66.67%100.00%-33.33% 31Ludlow21,2090.170.140.13-15.38%-9.09%-23.08% 32Hatfield3,2490.000.140.00 -100.00% 33Longmeadow15,6330.070.120.1575.00%28.57%125.00% 34 Middlefield/Worthington**1,8120.830.120.24-85.71%100.00%-71.43% 35 36Hampden Town5,171 0.16 0.11 -33.33%0.00%-33.33% 37Southampton5,387 0.15 0.10 -33.33%0.00%-33.33% 38Northampton28,978 0.05 0.090.0883.33%-9.09%66.67% 39Easthampton15,994 0.08 0.060.14-33.33%150.00%66.67% 40Amherst34,874 0.02 0.040.02100.00%-50.00%0.00% 41Tolland426 0.00 0.21 42Hadley4,793 0.05 0.000.26-100.00% 400.00% 43Westhampton1,468 0.00 **The towns of Middlefield and Worthington are combined because they share census block groups, which was the geographic level at which demographic data such as population and housing units was combined with foreclosure deeds, making it impossible to allocate an accurate population and housing unit to either town. Thus they are treated as one census geography for the purposes of calculating a foreclosure rate, etc.

15. For more information, please contact: Molly Goren-Watts Regional Information & Policy Center Manager Pioneer Valley Planning Commission 413-781-6045 mgoren-watts@pvpc.org Download a PDF of the report at: www.pvpc.org