Foreclosure activity up in October for metro Toledo

Real estate data show 10% rise over year ago

11/14/2013
BY JON CHAVEZ
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

Foreclosure-related activity in the four-county metro Toledo area rose 10 percent in October from a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac, a real-estate data firm in Irvine, Calif.

A total of 624 homes were in some state of foreclosure — a default notice, a scheduled auction, or a bank repossession — in October. That equated to one home for every 482 in metro Toledo. Activity was up 15 percent from September.

Breaking down the metro Toledo data for October, 543 homes in Lucas County were in the foreclosure process; in Wood County, 59 homes; in Ottawa County, 13 homes, and in Fulton County, nine homes.

In Ohio, foreclosure activity fell 9 percent in October from the same month in 2012. It was up 34 percent from September.

Ohio had 9,757 homes in the foreclosure process in October, or one for every 525 homes. Ohio ranked fourth nationally for states with the highest foreclosure problem.

Michigan was 20th with 3,890 homes in various stages, or one for every 1,165 homes.

Nationally, 133,919 homes were in foreclosure, one for every 978 homes. The rate was down 28 percent from 2012, but up 2 percent from September, according to RealtyTrac.

“The backlog of delayed judicial foreclosures continues to make its way through the pipeline, with many of these properties now being scheduled for the public auction after starting the foreclosure process last year or earlier this year,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

“Lenders are likely moving these properties more rapidly to the public auction given that there is strong demand from institutional buy-to-rent investors at the auction and that rising home prices mean more of the loan losses can be recouped, either by selling to an investor at the auction or by repossessing the property and reselling as bank-owned,” Mr. Blomquist said.