Foreclosures up twofold
Spokane County home foreclosures in September doubled to 0.6 percent, an increase from 0.3 percent in September 2007, an industry tracking service reported Thursday.
That figure, based on Spokane County’s active mortgage loans, means for every 1,000 home mortgages, six loans are being foreclosed.
The number of outstanding foreclosures in Spokane, including new and existing filings, for September 2008 is 470, according to the service, First American CoreLogic.
The national foreclosure rate is 1.7 percent.
Also in Spokane, the mortgage delinquency rate rose. According to First American CoreLogic, 1.6 percent of all home mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent for September 2008 compared to 1 percent for the same period last year.
Coeur d’Alene
Nighthawk lowers ’08 projections
Nighthawk Radiology Holdings Inc. lowered its 2008 outlook and posted third-quarter profits Wednesday that lagged the same period a year ago.
The Coeur d’Alene company reported profits of $6.2 million, or 21 cents per share, on revenues of $43.4 million during the July through September period. During the same three months last year the company listed profits of $8 million, or 26 cents per share, on $45.2 million in sales.
The company provides professional and financial services to about 750 radiology groups serving one in four U.S. hospitals.
The revised outlook for 2008 is revenues of $165 million to $168 million, said Dr. Paul Berger, Nighthawk chairman and chief executive officer. That’s down from the initial $195 million estimate.
The company’s stock price closed at $4 a share Thursday, off sharply from its 52-week high of $23.91.
CHS report boosts stock
Community Health Systems Inc. has posted third-quarter profits of $51.4 million on revenues of $2.8 billion, fueled by its purchase of multiple hospitals and higher patient numbers.
The results met analyst expectations, according to reports, and the company’s stock price climbed $3.59 –22 percent – to close at $19.86 on Thursday.
Community Health is the nation’s largest publicly traded hospital company.
The company, which has about 120 hospital holdings, recently purchased Spokane’s Deaconess Medical Center and Valley Hospital and Medical Center. It anticipates buying two to three more hospitals next year, according to its earnings report.