Arkansas Foreclosure Activity Remains Bottle-necked, But Backlog Improving

Residential foreclosures in Arkansas moved at a slow pace in February affecting 457 households across the state. The number of distressed filings fell 73.6% from a year ago, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.

While the year-over-year data shows a major decline in foreclosures, the number of new filings increased 67% from January, an indication the backlog created by a federal court ruling in September is trudging forward.

Local real estate professionals say foreclosure listings pulled last fall are slowly making their way back on the market, but banks are showing some restraint in an effort to avoid putting too many homes on the market and potentially driving down home prices.

“February’s numbers point to a gradually rising foreclosure tide as some of the barriers that have been holding back foreclosures are removed,” said Brandon Moore, CEO of RealtyTrac.

Moore said a foreclosure and mortgage settlement filed in court earlier this week will help pave the way to a properly functioning foreclosure process by providing a clear roadmap for necessary foreclosures, particularly in the 25 judicial states.

Arkansas is one of 24 states with a non-judicial foreclosure process — an abbreviated method that does not require a court hearing or judge’s signature.

MOST FILINGS PER HOUSEHOLDS (Top 5 Arkansas counties)
Washington County
2012: 79
2011: 195
1 filing per 1,111 households

Benton County
2012: 73
2011: 372
1 filing per 1,275 households

Saline County
2012: 32
2011: 93
1 filing per 1,400 households

Lonoke County
2012: 18
2011 56
1 filing per 1,513 households

Carroll County
2012: 7
2011: 12
1 filing per 1,937 households

Kim Souza with our content partner, The City Wire, is the author of this report. She can be reached by e-mail at [email protected].