The Portland-Vancouver area has the second-highest percentage of “zombie foreclosures” in the nation, according to a new report from Internet housing firm RealtyTrac.
Zombie foreclosures are homes that have started going through the foreclosure process, but have not finished — and the owners have left. They tend to be a drag on the local economy: They’re not well maintained, they pull down prices, and they don’t generate taxes.
The RealtyTrac report found 37 percent of owners going through the foreclosure process in the Portland/Vancouver area have vacated their homes.
