Houston Foreclosures Up 34.6% From 2009

Houston Business Journal, July 16, 2010
by Francisco Vara-Orta

Home foreclosures jumped overall in the first six months of 2010 from a year ago in the greater Houston area, but actually saw a slight decline in June, according to a new report from RealtyTrac Inc.

June statistics

One in every 581 houses foreclosed or was in danger of foreclosing in June, a 2.4 percent decrease from the same month in 2009. However, the number of foreclosures in the Bayou City is up 14 percent from May.

Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, a private marketer of foreclosure properties, found that a total 3,843 Houston homes foreclosed, defaulted, or were scheduled for auction in June.

Overall Houston ranks in the middle among metro areas with the highest number of foreclosures in June, checking in at No. 102 of the 203 areas that RealtyTrac monitors.

In June in Texas, one in 788 homes statewide received a foreclosure filing compared to nationally where one in 411 houses received a filing. Texas continues to do better when it comes to avoiding foreclosures compared to other states, such as the top four in rates and in total homes foreclosed such as Nevada, Arizona, Florida, and California.

Nationwide, foreclosure filings were reported on 313,841 properties in June, a 3 percent decrease from the previous month and a 7 percent decrease from June 2009. June was the sixteenth straight month where the total number of properties with foreclosure filings exceeded 300,000.

Second quarter and mid-year

In the second quarter, about 9,611 Houston homes were foreclosed on or in danger of it, a 15 percent increase from the previous six months, but a 14.4 percent decrease from the first quarter of 2010. That means one out of every 232 homes was in or is in danger of foreclosure.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 895,521 U.S. properties during the second quarter, a decrease of nearly 4 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of less than 1 percent from the second quarter of 2009.

“The second quarter was a tale of two trends,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said. “The pace of properties entering foreclosure slowed as lenders pre-empted or delayed foreclosure proceedings on delinquent properties with more aggressive short sale and loan modification initiatives. Meanwhile the pace of properties completing the foreclosure process through bank repossession quickened as lenders cleared out a backlog of distressed inventory delayed by foreclosure prevention efforts in 2009.”

As far as mid-year statistics, nationwide, about 1,654,634 homes were foreclosed on or in danger of it in the first six months of 2010, a 5 percent decrease from the previous six months, but an 8 percent increase from the first six months of 2009. That means one out of every 78 homes was in or in danger of foreclosure.

In Texas, about 64,883 homes were foreclosed on or in danger of it in the first six months of 2010, a 4 percent increase from the previous six months, and a 32 percent increase from the first six months of 2009. That means one out of every 148 homes was in or is in danger of foreclosure.

In Houston, about 19,137 homes were foreclosed on or in danger of it in the first six months of 2010, a 7.3 percent increase from the previous six months, and a 34.6 percent increase from the first six months of 2009. That means one out of every 117 homes was in or in danger of foreclosure.

“The midyear numbers put us on pace to exceed 3 million properties with foreclosure filings by the end of the year, and more than 1 million bank repossessions,” Saccacio said.

“The roller coaster pattern of foreclosure activity over the past 12 months demonstrates that while the foreclosure problem is being managed on the surface, a massive number of distressed properties and underwater loans continues to sit just below the surface, threatening the fragile stability of the housing market.”

Read more: Houston foreclosures up 34.6% from '09 - Houston Business Journal