Is this new statistic real or giving us false hope? My gut is that foreclosures are down and we are officially on an upswing. Of course – I have totally just jinxed us BUT the story below tells the bigger story! I am seeing positive things out there – lots of trucks (Economic indicator!!!), banks lending, and people spending.
The Columbus Dispatch Reports:
The number of foreclosures in Ohio dropped for the third straight month in June, but experts aren't sure whether the decline signals the beginning of the end or merely a temporary reprieve.
Foreclosure notices were filed on 11,252 Ohio properties during the month, a 1 percent drop from May and a 15 percent decline from the previous June, according to foreclosure research company RealtyTrac.
The figures represent the third consecutive monthly drop in total foreclosure filings in the state and the second straight monthly decline in default notices (the first step in the foreclosure process).
Overall, Ohio foreclosure notices are down nearly 15 percent in the first half of 2009 compared with the same period last year.
Nationwide, the opposite is true: Foreclosures rose nearly 15 percent across the country during the first six months of the year.
"We are seeing a drop," said Donato D'Alberto, owner of Exit Trinity Realty, a Gahanna company that handles foreclosed properties for banks. "We regularly send out foreclosure letters on new listings. We've gone from about 800 a month in the beginning of the year to 504 in June."
D'Alberto attributed the decline to foreclosure moratoriums and to banks' renegotiations of delinquent loans and acceptance of "short sales" (sales for less than the mortgage balance).
RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Blomquist speculated that loan negotiations are going better in Ohio because homes in the state haven't lost as much value as those in boom-and-bust states.
"Foreclosure prevention programs might be more effective in Ohio because people might not be as far underwater there — since values didn't skyrocket then plummet like they did elsewhere," Blomquist said.
Jon Stacy, a vice president with Union Savings Bank, said he's seen some success with federal refinancing programs that might be easing foreclosures. He said he hopes foreclosures are starting to wind down in Ohio.
"Hopefully, the market's stabilizing now, and we'll see an increase in home sales in 2010."
But D'Alberto, Blomquist and other experts cautioned against reading too much into the numbers.
"I don't see this (foreclosure) trend going down anytime soon," D'Alberto said. "I think it will go back up. It's just a dip in a certain period of time."
Despite the drop, foreclosures remain a big issue in Ohio, with one of every 450 properties receiving some sort of foreclosure notice in June — the 10th highest rate in the country.
Nationwide, foreclosure notices continue to rise and show no sign of letting up, according to RealtyTrac chief executive James J. Saccacio.
"Unemployment-related foreclosures account for much of this increased activity, and the high number of borrowers who find themselves owing more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth represent a potentially significant future risk," Saccacio said in a statement.
Four states continue to dominate in the number of foreclosure notices: California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada account for 56 percent of national filings, according to RealtyTrac.
