Fort Smith metro foreclosure activity up 1.9% in January

One month does not a trend make, but the 1.9% increase in January foreclosure activity in the Fort Smith metro area is a welcome start to 2010 — especially considering that metro area foreclosures were up 23.1% in 2009.

Foreclosures in the Fort Smith metro area (Crawford, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties in Arkansas; Leflore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma) totaled 100 in January, up 1.9% compared to January 2009. The figures were released by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.

Sebastian County had 40 properties in foreclosure activity in January, up 11.1% from January 2009. Crawford County had 39 properties in foreclosure activity, up 11.4% from January 2009.

The RealtyTrac report shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossession — were reported on 315,716 U.S. properties during the January, a decrease of nearly 10% from the previous month but still 15% above the level reported in January 2009. The report also shows one in every 409 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in January.

RealtyTrac is not optimistic the January numbers are the start of a positive national trend.
 
“January foreclosure numbers are exhibiting a pattern very similar to a year ago: a double-digit percentage jump in December foreclosure activity followed by a 10 percent drop in January,” James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO, said in a statement. “If history repeats itself we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs or the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives works.”

Arkansas recorded 2,011 foreclosure filings in January, up 4% compared to January 2009. Oklahoma had 1,773 filings, an increase of 82.2% compared to January 2009. (RealtyTrac noted that Oklahoma might see big year-over-year percentage changes based on improvements in collecting information.) Arkansas ranked 20th in the nation in terms of the number of foreclosures per household, and Oklahoma ranked 33rd.

Benton and Washington counties in Northwest Arkansas continue to pace the state with the most number of foreclosures per household.

FORT SMITH AREA FIGURES (Properties in the foreclosure process)
Crawford County
January 2010: 39
January 2009: 35

Franklin County
January 2010: 2
January 2009: 2

Logan County
January 2010: 8
January 2009: 6

Sebastian County
January 2010: 40
January 2009: 36

Leflore County
January 2010: 11
January 2009: 23

Sequoyah County
January 2010: 0
January 2009: 0

MOST FILINGS PER HOUSEHOLDS (Top 5 Arkansas counties)
1. Benton County
January 2010: 500
January 2009: 426
1 filing per 173 households

2. Washington County
January 2010: 348
January 2009: 253
1 filing per 240 households

3. Garland County
January 2010: 160
January 2009: 57
1 filing per 294 households

4. Lonoke County
January 2010: 76
January 2009: 51
1 filing per 340 households

5. Saline County
January 2010: 78
January 2009: 56
1 filing per 522 households