Area Foreclosures Remain Low

More area homes are falling into foreclosure than a year ago, but the numbers remain low.

There were 59 Benton County homes in some stage of foreclosure in November compared with 36 a year ago, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.

The trend repeats in Washington County where there were 56 homes in the foreclosure pipeline compared with 11 in November 2011.

Arkansas’ foreclosure activity slowed last year after a federal judge in the state’s Eastern District ruled only lenders “authorized to do business in the state” could use the nonjudicial foreclosure method. The case was resolved in June and foreclosure activity has ticked upward.

Benton and Washington counties have routinely led the state in foreclosure rates but fell to sixth and fifth place respectively. One in every 1,578 Benton County home and one in every 1,568 Washington County home were in foreclosure in November. The state rate is one in every 2,659 home and the national level is one in every 728 home.

Statewide foreclosures grew to 495 this November from 160 a year earlier.

Nationally foreclosures dropped to 180,816 this November from 224,394 in the same month last year.

Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, said a 71-month low in default notices in November contributed to the steep drop in the number of homes in foreclosure for the month.

“But foreclosures are continuing to hobble the U.S. housing market as lenders finally seize properties that started the process a year or two ago — and much longer in some cases,” he said.

Neither Benton or Washington county had any new default notices in November 2012.