2010 foreclosure activity up 42% in Fort Smith region

Fort Smith regional foreclosure activity for the first two months of 2010 is up more than 42%, according to the closely watched RealtyTrac report.

January 2010 showed a decline in area foreclosures compared to 2009, but foreclosures in the Fort Smith metro area (Crawford, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties in Arkansas; Leflore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma) totaled 192 in February, up 86.4% compared to February 2009. The figures were released by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.

For the first two months of 2010, there were 292 metro area properties in some form of foreclosure action, up 42.4% over the 205 in the same period of 2009. The Fort Smith metro area saw a 23.1% jump in foreclosures in 2009 compared to 2008.

Crawford County saw its February foreclosure activity jump 162.9% compared to February 2009.

The once-booming Northwest Arkansas residential real estate market continues to struggle. Benton and Washington counties had 473 and 254 properties in foreclosure, respectively, up a combined 14.6% over the February 2009.

Nationwide, RealtyTrac reported 308,524 properties in a foreclosure action during the month, a decrease of 2% from the previous month but still 6% above the level reported in February 2009.

“The 6 percent year-over-year increase we saw in February was the smallest annual increase we’ve seen since January 2006, when we began calculating year-over-year increases, but it still marked the 50th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said in a statement. “This leveling of the foreclosure trend is not necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are in effect capping monthly foreclosure activity — albeit at a historically high level that will likely continue for an extended period.”
 
The Las Vegas metro area documented the highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 90 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, despite a 9% decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month. Six of the other metro areas in the top 10 — all in California or Arizona — also reported decreasing foreclosure activity from the previous month. The biggest monthly decrease among the top 10 was in the Phoenix metro area, where foreclosure activity dropped nearly 18%.
 
FORT SMITH AREA FIGURES (Properties in the foreclosure process)
Crawford County
February 2010: 71
February 2009: 27

Franklin County
February 2010: 6
February 2009: 3

Logan County
February 2010: 5
February 2009: 5

Sebastian County
February 2010: 91
February 2009: 62

Leflore County
February 2010: 16
February 2009: 6

Sequoyah County
February 2010: 3
February 2009: 0

MOST FILINGS PER HOUSEHOLDS (Top 5 Arkansas counties)
1. Benton County
February 2010: 473
February 2009: 339
1 filing per 183 households

2. Lonoke County
February 2010: 91
February 2009: 54
1 filing per 284 households

3. Washington County
February 2010: 254
February 2009: 295
1 filing per 329 households

4. Crawford County
February 2010: 71
February 2009: 27
1 filing per 332 households

5. Greene County
February 2010: 42
February 2009: 13
1 filing per 427 households