Fort Smith area foreclosure actions jump in August

Foreclosure activity in the Fort Smith area spiked higher in August, going against the trend seen in Arkansas and around the country.

A report released by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac shows that 155 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 August, up 51.9% over the 102 properties in the 2009 period.

During the first eight months of 2010, the region has seen 1,138 foreclosure actions, a 28.4% increase compared to the 886 in the same period of 2009.

Sebastian County had 83 filings in August, up 33.87% from August 2009. Crawford County had 41 filings in August, up 20.5% from the 34 in August 2009.

Arkansas had 1,919 properties in a foreclosure action during August, down 1% compared to the same period in 2009. Oklahoma had 1,980 properties on the list, up 52% 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. Washington County is the top Arkansas county in terms of foreclosure actions per household (1 for every 224 homes), and Benton County is second with 1 home in a foreclosure action for every 227 homes.

RealtyTrac’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for August 2010 reported a foreclosure action — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — on 338,836 properties in August, down 5% from August 2009. One in every 381 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.

“The trend lines of decreasing default notices and increasing bank repossessions converged in August, with virtually the same number of new default notices and bank repossessions for the month — a clear indication that the clogged foreclosure pipeline is being carefully managed on both ends by lenders and servicers,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said in a statement. “On the front end, seriously delinquent loans are rolling into foreclosure at an unusually slow rate, while on the back end the dammed-up inventory of properties already in foreclosure is moving to REO in steady stream rather than a flood — presumably to prevent further erosion of home prices.”

Lenders foreclosed on 95,364 U.S. properties in August, up 25% from August 2009. It was the highest monthly total in the history of the report and about 2% higher than the previous peak of 93,777 bank repossessions (REOs) in May 2010.

FORT SMITH AREA FIGURES (Properties in the foreclosure process)
Crawford County
Aug. 2010: 41
Aug. 2009: 34

Franklin County
Aug. 2010: 8
Aug. 2009: 0

Logan County
Aug. 2010: 8
Aug. 2009: 2

Sebastian County

Aug. 2010: 83

Aug. 2009: 62

Leflore County
Aug. 2010: 12
Aug. 2009: 3

Sequoyah County

Aug. 2010: 3
Aug. 2009: 1

MOST FILINGS PER HOUSEHOLDS (Top 5 Arkansas counties)
Washington County
Aug. 2010: 373
Aug. 2009: 297
1 filing per 224 households

Benton County
Aug. 2010: 381
Aug. 2009: 426
1 filing per 227 households

Lonoke County
Aug. 2010: 71
Aug. 2009: 85
1 filing per 364 households

Craighead County
Aug. 2010: 80
Aug. 2009: 53
1 filing per 497 households

Pulaski County
Aug. 2010: 329
Aug. 2009: 295
1 filing per 535 households