Homeowners around the nation are struggling to make mortgage payments, and Frederick County is no exception. This map shows the areas with the lowest and highest concentration of subprime mortgage loans. Click here for a larger image
	SUBPRIME LENDING & FORECLOSURES Homeowners around the nation are struggling to make mortgage payments, and Frederick County is no exception. The map below show the area with the lowest and highest concentration of subprime mortgage loans. Click the map for a larger image. SEARCHABLE DATABASE Search the list of foreclosures filed in Frederick County Circuit Court from Jan. 1 to March 18, 2008. BIZ BLOG Business editor Cliff Cumber blogs about the project. Click here to check out his blog. THE ECONOMY & ME This new online-only section houses all sorts of stories that come our way on the economy, as well as tips consumers can use to stretch their dollar a little bit further. Click the graphic to go to the section. RELATED STORIES Foreclosure: A far-reaching problem Published on May 04, 2008 Ellen Scrivens reminisces about the house that she lost due to foreclosure last August that is located off Burning Bush Drive.more » Getting hit from all sides Published on May 04, 2008 In 2006, 455 foreclosures were filed in Frederick County Circuit Court. In 2007, that number more than doubled to 1,025. more » Officials seek to help foreclosure victims Published on May 04, 2008 People facing foreclosure, or who know someone who is, will have the opportunity Monday night to hear from someone who can help. more » Comptroller: state efforts to stem Published on May 04, 2008 The effect of the foreclosure crisis will hit hardest at local budgets, according to the state's chief tax official. more » Borrowers' euphoria clouded subprime risks Published on May 04, 2008 People were so happy to be in a home that the risks of the subprime loans they signed up for went right over their heads. more » Budgeting measures may protect county from foreclosure trouble Published on May 04, 2008 With conservative budgeting, Frederick County is prepared financially for effect from the local economy caused by the foreclosure crisis. more » Signs of trouble Auctioneers saw dangers of subprime loans coming Published on May 04, 2008 Auctioneers saw it coming. They knew the subprime loan frenzy would cause many homeowners to mortgage their futures. more »

This year, as of April 18, the foreclosure count stood at 485, and experts say there's worse to come.

Foreclosures this year include $219,000 townhouses in Hillcrest Orchards and $650,000 single-family homes on quarter-acre lots in the Villages of Urbana .

And the problem is affecting people across the economic spectrum, from construction workers to white-collar employees.

The causes are many, ranging from job loss to predatory lending, said Joe Baldi, a former mortgage agent and Frederick alderman who now works as a housing counselor with the Frederick Community Action Agency.

Some people are getting caught with a triple-whammy: They can't make their mortgage payments, they can't sell, and the house is worth less than the mortgage, Baldi said.

In some parts of the county, high-interest loans made up more than one-third of all first mortgages on single-family homes issued in 2006, according to federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.

High-interest loans are defined as those with an annual percentage rate 3 points or more higher than the rate on Treasury bonds of comparable maturity.

Areas with the greatest concentration of those loans included both sides of the Golden Mile in the City of Frederick , and the west side of U.S. 15, also in the city.

Those are also areas that have had some of the highest number of foreclosures in 2008.

Some types of adjustable-rate loans came with a two- to three-year period before rates reset. People with those loans are just now starting to come up on the readjustment, which in some cases can raise their mortgage payments to the breaking point.

Subprime mortgage lending, of which adjustable-rate loans are one example, helped buyers with lower credit or poor credit obtain financing to buy homes.

"The subprime products have slight differences but all have similar elements: some credit impairment, such as a low credit score; a high income-to-debt ratio; a lack of credit history and low documentation," said Edward Prescott, a research economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

But the risky lending during a boom time for housing prices led to a crash as loans readjusted, and people already tight for money found themselves unable to afford their monthly mortgage payments.

More to come

Frederick County hasn't quite hit bottom yet, said Wayne Six, an appraiser with Six and Associates.

Typically, Frederick County has a balanced housing market when about 1,100 to 1,200 homes are for sale. As of April 21, 2,023 homes were available, he said.

Inventory has grown since mid-January, when it was 1,850 homes, but not as much as some people were expecting.

More people are buying, too -- the county is seeing 40 to 45 sales a week, compared to 20 to 30 a year ago -- but 60 or so homes are still coming on the market each week, Six said.

"It's like we have a fish on (the hook), and he's still taking the line out a little bit, but he's not smoking the reel like he had been," Six said.

Generally, areas taking the hardest hits now are the ones where home prices rose the most, said Andy Bauer, a regional economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. In the Mid-Atlantic region, Prince George's County and Virginia's Prince William County are having the biggest problems.

Prices are adjusting, but housing inventory throughout the Washington-Baltimore region is going to need to fall farther before being cleared out, he said.

The median home price in Frederick County in March was $290,000, down from $307,500 a year ago, according to the Maryland Association of Realtors.

Reporter Jon Stewart contributed to this article.