Foreclosure filings drop in the Valley

Metro Phoenix's foreclosure activity reached an interesting equilibrium in March. The number of pre-foreclosures fell to nearly the level of actual foreclosures.

Pre-foreclosures, or notice of trustee sales, usually outpace actual foreclosures or trustee sales by a few thousand in the region.

Last month, the number of new notice-of-trustee sales filed dropped to 5,692, according to Information Market, a real-estate data firm. At the same time, the number of trustee sales, or foreclosures completed, reached 5,003.

New Phoenix foreclosure filings have been falling during the past few months, a good sign that fewer people are losing their homes or opting to walk away.

Actual foreclosures haven't dropped at the same rate. But that doesn't surprise housing-market watchers who have expected foreclosures placed on hold last fall due to lender moratoriums to still be working their way through the foreclosure process.

More of those foreclosure homes are being auctioned on the courthouse steps. Last month, a nearly record 1,311 metro Phoenix foreclosure houses were purchased by third-party investors at trustee-sale auctions, which are most often held at noon in front of the Maricopa County courthouse in downtown Phoenix.

Fewer new foreclosures and more homes that sell at foreclosure auctions could mean fewer cheap homes on the market to drag down prices.

Information Market reports the region's median home price has held steady at $115,000 for the past few months, after a double-dip drop last year.
Tucson foreclosures

A California group called ForeclosureRadar.com is tracking Arizona's housing market. According to its data, foreclosure filings in Tucson fell 43 percent in March from February's level. ForeclosureRadar filings include both notice-of-trustee sales and trustee sales.

Foreclosure filings dipped slightly to 7,323 in Pinal County, home to several of metro Phoenix's newer affordable edge communities. There were 7,350 foreclosure filings in Pinal during February.

Sean O'Toole, chief executive of ForeclosureRadar, said the one thing clear about foreclosures now is that there's "no consensus on a viable solution (to help homeowners) other than to eliminate the excess mortgage debt that has left millions underwater and continues to hinder the broader economy."

by Catherine Reagor The Arizona Republic Apr. 13, 2011 12:00 AM





Foreclosure filings drop in the Valley