Dallas-Fort Worth home foreclosures up 10% for year

Texas Foreclosure & Real Estate Articles

Article Abstract:  North Texas foreclosure auctions provide great home buying opportunities for Texas residents.  The current state of the real estate market seems to be quite favorable to all types of home buyers.  Those looking to sell their homes are dropping prices left and right and those lenders looking to get rid of their Texas foreclosure property inventory are also dropping prices.  The market couldn’t get any better for investing or for a first home purchase.  There were 4,303 foreclosures in North Texas heading to the auction block with more expected to come. For the entire North Texas foreclosure article please see the full article below:
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By ANGELA SHAH / The Dallas Morning News

The number of North Texas homes set to be auctioned in foreclosure next month is the highest since 1989, according to Foreclosure Listing Service.

Next month's foreclosure auctions have 4,303 postings in the five-county area, up 7 percent from the same period last year, when 4,009 were listed.

Year to date, foreclosure postings are up 10 percent to 38,880 for the region, excluding Rockwall County. In Dallas County, they are up 8 percent to 18,326.

"It's very, very difficult to explain the postings for this month because there's been no real material change in the economic conditions," said George Roddy, president of Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. in Addison.

The increase in foreclosure postings followed declines in September and October.

Jim Gaines, an economist at Texas A&M University's Real Estate Center, attributes the spike to delays in proposed plans to help mortgage-holders.

He said lenders had held off on foreclosures because they thought that aid was on its way but had decided they couldn't wait any longer.

He said the lenders are now saying: "We can't really afford to carry this anymore. The meter's running ... need to shut the meter off."

The number of homes posted for the Nov. 6 auction surpassed the 4,056 postings filed in February, the recent record.

Not all homes posted for foreclosure are actually sold at auction.

In some cases, the sales are delayed or the borrower negotiates a new agreement with the lender.

Another firm reported Wednesday that housing starts have dropped to the lowest level in more than six years.

Area homebuilders started 8,332 homes in the third quarter, down from 12,040 a year ago, a drop of 31 percent, according to Residential Strategies Inc.

The Dallas market research firm said the annual rate for starts now stands at 35,112 units, the lowest since the first quarter of 2001.

Residential Strategies partner Ted Wilson called the third quarter challenging for homebuilders.

"The disruption of the mortgage markets, in combination with an avalanche of negative national press, has made the buyer extremely cautious," he said.

New-home closings fell 19 percent in the third quarter, down to 9,941 units from 12,263 units a year ago.

Mr. Wilson noted that closings outpaced starts by more than 6,000 units on an annual basis.

"Builders are working down the overhang of unsold units and [are] well on their way to finding the new equilibrium of market demand," he said.

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's beige book survey pointed to declining economic conditions in September and early October, largely due to real estate turmoil.

However, the bank said there is still little evidence this turmoil is significantly affecting the broader economy.

Though consumer lending has softened, commercial lending continues to expand, the Fed reported.

The central bank economists concluded that the settling of financial markets since this summer's upheaval has spurred some optimism among businesses.

Retail sales have improved, the economists said, and with the exception of manufacturing, conditions in most sectors remained steady, if not robust.

 

FORECLOSURE POSTINGS The number of homes scheduled for foreclosure auctions in November, and the increase from last year: Area Number Increase Dallas County 2,018 7% Tarrant County 1,260 3% Collin County 492 5% Denton County 450 23% Rockwall County 83 32% SOURCE: Foreclosure Listing Service

Staff writer Brendan M. Case contributed to this report.

 

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