Foreclosure postings are down in the region's four most populous counties, continuing a months-long trend, but remain at levels that would have been considered high just a few years ago.
North Texas homeowners face 4,177 postings for the Oct. 4 auction, down 13 percent from the previous month and down 17 percent from a year earlier. It was the sixth consecutive month that DFW foreclosure postings were below 5,000, according to Foreclosure Listing Service, which collects the data from filings at the Tarrant, Dallas, Denton and Collin county courthouses.In Tarrant County, there were 1,404 filings, down 13 percent from last month. Filings were down 14 percent to 1,741 in Dallas County, down 7 percent in Denton County to 462, and down 12 percent in Collin County to 570. Compared with a year ago, filings were down 14 percent in Tarrant County, 17 percent in Dallas County, 20 percent in Denton County and 22 percent in Collin County."Without a doubt, this is good news. But I am still very guarded about the foreclosure market," said George Roddy, president of the listing service. Postings have varied considerably in the previous six months, and the economy remains sluggish, limiting homeowners' ability to catch up on mortgage payments, Roddy said in a statement.Another unknown is how many properties banks have repossessed but not yet put up for sale, he said. A flood of new inventory on the market could depress home values.Foreclosure postings are also down for the year to date.For the 10 months including October, there have been 46,557 residential filings in the four counties, down 12 percent from the same period last year. Tarrant County was down 9 percent, Dallas County down 15 percent, Denton County down 11 percent and Collin County down 14 percent.Compared with 2009, postings to date are down 8 percent in the four counties but remain up 11 percent from 2008.Not all foreclosure postings result in the homeowner losing the house. Roddy said that generally, 60 percent to 75 percent of filings are resolved by the lender and the homeowner, either by becoming current on payments or reaching some other agreement.Jim Fuquay, 817-390-7552Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
