Fort Smith area, U.S. foreclosures filings down in July

July saw a 12% decrease in foreclosure filings in the Fort Smith area, similar to a 10% dip in the nationwide numbers.

The report released by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac shows that 131 properties in the Fort Smith region (Crawford, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties in Arkansas; LeFlore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma) were placed in a foreclosure action during July, down 12% over the 149 properties in the 2009 period.

During the first half of 2010, the region has seen a 34.1% increase in foreclosure filings compared to the same period of 2009.

Sebastian County saw its filings fall 16.6% from 84 in July 2009 to 70 in July 2010. Crawford County had 37 filings in July, down 30.1% from the 53 in July 2009.

Arkansas had 1,975 properties in a foreclosure action during July, down 12.26% compared to the same period in 2009. Oklahoma had 1,998 properties on the list, up 29.9% over the 2009 period.

Arkansas had 11,043 properties in a foreclosure action during the first half of 2010, up 27.7% compared to the same period in 2009. Oklahoma had 10,343 properties on the list, up 84.4% over the 2009 period.

Foreclosure activity in Benton and Washington counties in Northwest Arkansas continue to be the hotspot for foreclosure activity in the state. Although both counties saw July declines in activity, Benton County is the top county in terms of foreclosure actions per household (1 for every 207 homes), and Washington County is second with 1 home in a foreclosure action for every 242 homes.

RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for July 2010 reported a foreclosure action — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — on 325,229 properties in July, down 10% from July 2009. One in every 397 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.
 
“July marked the 17th consecutive month with a foreclosure activity total exceeding 300,000,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said in the statement. “Declines in new default notices, which were down on a year-over-year basis for the sixth straight month in July, have been offset by near-record levels of bank repossessions, which increased on a year-over-year basis for the eighth straight month.”
 
Lenders foreclosed on 92,858 U.S. properties in July, up 6% from July 2009. July’s bank repossession (REO) total was the second highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began tracking REO activity in April 2005 and was 1% below the monthly REO activity peak of 93,777 in May 2010.

FORT SMITH AREA FIGURES (Properties in the foreclosure process)
Crawford County
July 2010: 37
July 2009: 53

Franklin County
July 2010: 8
July 2009: 4

Logan County
July 2010: 1
July 2009: 1

Sebastian County
July 2010: 70
July 2009: 84

Leflore County
July 2010: 15
July 2009: 7

Sequoyah County
July 2010: 0
July 2009: 0

MOST FILINGS PER HOUSEHOLDS (Top 5 Arkansas counties)
Benton County
July 2010: 418
July 2009: 497
1 filing per 397 households

Washington County
July 2010: 345
July 2009: 542
1 filing per 242 households

Saline County
July 2010: 105
July 2009: 125
1 filing per 387 households

Craighead County
July 2010: 85
July 2009: 62
1 filing per 465 households

Garland County
July 2010: 97
July 2009: 64
1 filing per 485 households