Foreclosure reports finds activity falling in area counties, up in Lucas County

10/11/2012
BLADE STAFF

Third-quarter foreclosure filings with the Lucas County Clerk of Court fell 19 percent compared to 2011, dropping to 704 new filings.

Lucas County Clerk of Court Bernie Quilter said through Tuesday, there had been 2,255 foreclosure filings in Lucas County — 16 fewer than in the same time period last year.

However, a report released Wednesday that tracks all foreclosure-related activity, including homes with foreclosure suits pending but not filed, said activity in Lucas County was up 25 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year.

RealtyTrac, a real estate data firm in Irvine, Calif., said 1,799 Lucas County homes were in some stage of the foreclosure process in July, August, and September.

RealtyTrac's figures include default notices, scheduled actions, and bank repossessions.

The firm reported improvements in Fulton and Ottawa counties for the quarter. Activity in Fulton County fell by a third to include 67 properties, while Ottawa County activity fell by 2 percent to include 46 properties.

Foreclosure-related activity was up 6 percent in Wood County to 237 properties.

Together as a metro area, foreclosure-related activity was up 18 percent to 2,149, RealtyTrac said. That breaks down to one in every 140 homes.

For September, RealtyTrac said foreclosure-related activity for the metro area was up 11 percent.

Ohio was one of the poorer performers in RealtyTrac’s report, ranking seventh in the number of homes with foreclosure-related activity. It joined Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York as states that posted substantial increases in both September and in the third quarter. Florida had the most activity, the firm said.

Nationwide, September activity was down 16 percent year-over-year, falling to the lowest total since July, 2007.