Published: November 26, 2008 01:59 pm      

Foreclosures up 25 percent

Hays, eight area counties feel pinch of housing woes

San Marcos — Foreclosures throughout Hays and eight other Central Texas counties are up 25 percent over 2007, with almost 25,000 foreclosure postings reported by the Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. (FLS) during 2008.

And while the number of properties listed for next month in Hays County was less than those listed in December 2007, it isn’t all good news on the local front.

“Following three years of declining foreclosure posting activity, foreclosure notices have again ticked upward with 951 postings filed this year on real property located in Hays County,” said FLS President George Roddy. “This was a nine percent increase over the 871 postings filed for all of 2007.”

Roddy noted that “for five quarters in a row, Hays’ quarterly foreclosure posting activity has exceeded 200 notices per quarter,” and that “in foreclosure auctions occurring during the fourth quarter of this year, 239 notices were filed, which was seven percent more than during the same quarter last year when 224 notices were reported.”

This year’s second quarter had the highest number of Hays listings at 259, which was the highest seen since 270 in the second quarter of 2005.

Roddy said monthly postings have been at 80 or more seven months of this year, with the highest number 89, occurring in May. “The largest number of postings filed on record is 113, which occurred in both July and August of 2004,” Roddy said.

A total of 70 properties are scheduled for foreclosure in December, which represents a nine percent decline over the 77 posted in December 2007. “Month to month posting activity dropped 21 percent from the 89 postings filed for the November 2008 auction,” Roddy said.

In terms of monthly postings, Travis County saw the biggest increase, 48 percent. Travis also held the lead (55 percent) in fourth quarter postings. Bell County topped the annual list, with a 34 percent increase over 2007.

FLS tracks Hays, Travis, Williamson, Bastrop, Bell, McLennan, Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe counties as well as the Austin and San Antonio metro areas.

The firm’s statistics include residential foreclosure postings for single family homes, condominiums and townhomes.