Western-Star.com

COLUMBUS — Ohio's home foreclosure crisis, already a near epidemic in some urban neighborhoods, has moved to the suburbs.

A new report released Thursday showed that 73 percent of the subprime loans that have ignited the crisis were made in middle and upper income areas — often suburbs — in 2005, while just 27 percent were made in low and moderate income areas.

The trend applied in all area counties. Warren County had the highest percentage in the area — 87 percent in middle and upper income areas.

"Foreclosures are no longer (just) an urban problem," said Paul Bellamy, who worked on the report for the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio. "They've moved to the suburbs."

Typically, subprime loans are made to borrowers with blemished credit and sometimes are made without considering the borrower's ability to pay, the report said.

Overall, subprime loans account for just 18 percent of all outstanding Ohio mortgages but 63 percent of the foreclosure filings, the report said.

These subprime loans often are made with adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). They have low, fixed interest rates for the first two or three years and then surge to much higher rates, putting many borrowers at risk.