Foreclosure pace mixed around the state in May, follows national trend

Pulaski, Sebastian and Craighead counties each showed 12% more homes lapsing into foreclosure last month compared to the same month last year. Northwest Arkansas continues to see its foreclosure rates decrease from a year ago, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac.

There were a total of 100,841 foreclosures across the country in May, down 21% from a year ago and the eighth straight month with a year-over-year decline. Arkansas bucked that trend with 502 foreclosure filings reported in May compared to 472 a year ago. FIlings for the state were up 6.36% year-over-year, and Arkansas was one of 18 states reporting higher foreclosure filings last month.

Central Arkansas’ uptick in foreclosures is the main reason for the state’s increase. Pulaski County, the most populated region in the state accounted for about one-third of the foreclosure filings with 159 reported in May, up nearly 41% in the county from a year ago. Neighboring Faulkner County reported flat foreclosures from a year ago. Saline County’s foreclosures rose 20% year-over-year while Lonoke saw a 100% increase in foreclosures from a year ago with 31 filings in May.

The loss of more than 100 energy related jobs in central Arkansas over the past year could explain part of the reason foreclosures are higher. While foreclosures are trending up in central Arkansas they remain well below the levels reached in 2009 following the recession. The foreclosure rate in the Little Rock Metro area was one in every 1,123 homes. The metro ranked 67 among U.S. regions with populations above 200,000.

In Northwest Arkansas, the second most populated region of the state, foreclosure filings continue to drop. In Benton County there were 30 new filings in May, down 47.37% from a year ago. Washington County reported similar results with 12 filings, down 45.45% year-over-year. The low unemployment rate in the region at 2.4% in April and the steady job growth in recent months is a positive the one-time troubled local housing market.

The Fort Smith metro area was a mixture of ups and downs. Sebastian County, the largest area by population in the metro reported 11 new filings, up from 8 a year ago. Crawford County had 6 fillings, which was 25% lower than a year ago.

Foreclosures in the Jonesboro metro area were also mixed. The larger Craighead County reported 11 new filings, up 37.5% from a year ago. Poinsett County had 6 fillings, which was 25% lower year-over-year.

Economists show no concern about the uptick in foreclosure filings in pockets around the country, noting that the housing market is strengthening given the higher home prices which help to work against foreclosures.

“The number of homeowners who have negative equity has fallen by two-thirds since its 2010 peak, and the number of borrowers in foreclosure proceedings has also continued to drop,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

As long as home prices are rising homeowners are less likely to default. While there is a lot going right in the nation’s and state’s housing markets, Nallathambi said there are still about  four million homeowners who were remained underwater at the end of the first quarter. He cautioned that these borrowers are more vulnerable to foreclosure proceedings if they should fall delinquent.

FORECLOSURES BY METRO AREA (May)
Fayetteville MSA
45 filings, down 43.75%

Fort Smith MSA
30 filings, down 16.67%

Jonesboro MSA
13 filings, down 7.14%

Little Rock MSA
279 filings, up 34.78%