Dallas foreclosed homes for sale still floods the Texas housing market. For this month, nearly 6,000 foreclosure houses are scheduled for auction, representing an increase of 34 percent compared with last year.
For the first 9 months of this year, the number of foreclosure properties hit 51,000. Industry experts said that in previous years, the wave of foreclosures were caused by homeowners who borrowed risky loans, requiring no or low down payment and adjusting to exorbitant rates later. Lenders are also to blame for encouraging borrowers even if they are not creditworthy.
Experts said that the first wave of foreclosures was confined only to a certain group of borrowers. However, they pointed out that the next wave of foreclosures reflects the worsening economic condition not just in Texas but across the country. Many of troubled homeowners have lost their jobs or reduce their income. The rising unemployment rate resulted to more Dallas foreclosed homes for sale as indicated by the rise in the number of foreclosed homes placed on auction this month.
However, only about 50 percent of distressed properties placed for sale monthly are actual foreclosures. In many cases, lenders and borrowers have reached an agreement that gave homeowners an opportunity to save their properties from foreclosure or the repossession action is delayed.
Statewide, the highest increase in foreclosure rate was posted in Collin County. According to data, foreclosure filings increased by 61 percent to 778 homes compared with the numbers scheduled for foreclosure auction in October the previous year.
In Denton County, foreclosure filings jumped by 42 percent to 710 compared with a year ago. Similarly, Tarrant County posted a 43 percent rise to 1,975 while Dallas County foreclosure filings increased by 20 percent to almost 2,477.
But industry experts noted that the actual number of foreclosure this year dropped by 17 percent compared with last year. They said that this could mean that some federal programs aimed at preventing the spread of foreclosures are starting to show results.
One of the most popular federal programs is the loan modification. The Obama Administration has been offering incentives to lenders to motivate them to work with homeowners to find ways to save their properties from foreclosures.
Industry experts said that the loan modification program, despite its slow start, is on its track to reduce the number of Dallas foreclosed homes for sale.
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