Regional foreclosure action sees big jump

Fort Smith regional foreclosure activity for the first quarter of 2010 is up more than 201%, according to the closely watched RealtyTrac report.

However, a sharp rise in foreclosures in Leflore County in Oklahoma may be attributable to improvements in RealtyTrac collection methods in Oklahoma, the company noted.

Properties in some level of foreclosure in the Fort Smith metro area (Crawford, Franklin, Logan and Sebastian counties in Arkansas; Leflore and Sequoyah counties in Oklahoma) totaled 891 in the January-March period, up 201% compared to the same period in 2009.

Crawford County saw its first quarter foreclosure activity (165 properties) jump 87.5% compared to the 2009 period (88 properties). Sebastian County had 253 properties in foreclosure action in the first quarter, up 76.9% compared to the 2009 period.

Nationwide, Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac reports that foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 932,234 properties in the first quarter, a 16% increase from the first quarter of 2009. One in every 138 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

“Foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2010 followed a very similar pattern to what we saw in the first quarter of 2009: a shallow trough in January and February followed by a substantial spike in March,” James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO said in the statement. “One difference, however, is that the increases were more tilted toward the final stage of foreclosure, with REOs (bank repossessions)  increasing 9 percent on a quarterly basis in the first quarter of 2010 compared to a 13 percent quarterly decrease in REOs in the first quarter of 2009.

Arkansas had 6,246 properties in a foreclosure action in the quarter, up 36.3% compared to the 2009 period. Oklahoma had 5,686 properties in a foreclosure action in the quarter, up 95.2% compared to the 2009 period.

FORT SMITH AREA FIGURES (Properties in the foreclosure process)
Crawford County
Jan.-March 2010: 165
Jan.-March 2009: 88

Franklin County
Jan.-March 2010: 17
Jan.-March 2009: 7

Logan County
Jan.-March 2010: 21
Jan.-March 2009: 12

Sebastian County
Jan.-March 2010: 253
Jan.-March 2009: 143

Leflore County
Jan.-March 2010: 431
Jan.-March 2009: 45

Sequoyah County
Jan.-March 2010: 4
Jan.-March 2009: 1

MOST FILINGS PER HOUSEHOLDS (Top 5 Arkansas counties)
1. Benton County
Jan.-March 2010: 1,394
Jan.-March 2009: 1,214
1 filing per 62 households

2. Washington County
Jan.-March 2010: 956
Jan.-March 2009: 819
1 filing per 87 households

3. Lonoke County
Jan.-March 2010: 259
Jan.-March 2009: 165
1 filing per 100 households

4. Garland County
Jan.-March 2010: 421
Jan.-March 2009: 215
1 filing per 112 households

5. Saline County
Jan.-March 2010: 290
Jan.-March 2009: 213
1 filing per 140 households