Published: June 14, 2008 03:30 pm            

For Hays foreclosures, news is good — and bad

San Marcos — There’s a little bit of good news mixed in with the bad in the monthly report from Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. (FLS).

Figures released on Thursday show that in all nine counties the service tracks, the number of properties scheduled for public auction were up by double digits over the numbers listed for July 2007.

The number of Hays properties listed for this July is up 27 percent from last year but down 15 percent from last month.

“Although this is welcome news, it does not change the fact that foreclosure postings are on the high end of the foreclosure cycle and that for a number of consecutive months now, monthly postings have been higher than at the same time last year,” said FLS President George Roddy Sr.

Roddy cautioned against putting too much emphasis on the drop from last month.

“A month, or even two, of lessening foreclosure postings compared to the previous month is not a sign that foreclosure trends are changing,” he said. “Trends are based on longer term measurements; and, compared to one year ago, July’s foreclosure postings still remain well ahead in all nine Central Texas counties. In addition, year-to-date foreclosing posting activity was not just higher, but significantly higher, in most of the Central Texas region.”

The biggest increase over July 2007, 61 percent, occurred in Bastrop County, where 50 properties are listed for July compared to 31 a year ago. Bastrop foreclosures also spiked 25 percent higher this month than last. Williamson County was next with a 48 percent increase; 214 properties listed this July compared to 145 last year.

Bexar County listings were up 44 percent; Bell County, 43 percent; Travis County, 39 percent; McClennan County, 34 percent; Guadalupe County, 26 percent and Comal County, 12 percent.

In year-to-date postings, Hays has seen an 11 percent increase over the first seven months of 2007. Hays totals for 2008 are five percent higher than in 2006 but four percent lower than 2005 and one percent lower than 2004.

So far, a total of 566 Hays properties have been listed.

“For the first seven monthly foreclosure auctions of 2008, foreclosure posting activity has climbed in all nine Central Texas counties,” Roddy said. “And, although Hays County’s foreclosure postings were up it has fared far better than all but one of the other counties. With an 11 percent gain in postings over the last year in Hays County, only Bastrop County’s four percent increase was less.”

Postings include all property types, including single-family homes, condominiums, townhomes, duplexes, mobile homes, apartment communities, office buildings, retail centers, industrial buildings, vacant land and other miscellaneous buildings.

Foreclosure auctions are held on the first Tuesday of the month on the north steps of the Hays County Courthouse.

        

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