By Anita Miller
News Editor
San Marcos —
The number of properties scheduled to be auctioned off on the steps of the Hays County Courthouse April 6 is slated to set a record.
April auction "marked the 15th month in a row that posting activity has surpassed 100 per month," said George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service, (FLS), which tracks 11 counties in Central Texas.
Despite that high number, Hays is seeing a smaller increase than some other parts of the area, according to figures FLS released on Friday.
The 123 Hays properties scheduled for auction next month represent an increase of only 12 percent from the 110 properties in April 2009. The percentage change in Travis County was 29; it was 22 in Williamson and one in Bastrop. For the Austin Metro area, where postings totaled 1,451, there was a 23 percent change.
"Since postings have been high for more than just the last year, it is important to look back a little further," Roddy said of the Hays numbers. "Over the past two years, April's posting activity has increased 52 percent from the 81 notices filed for the April foreclosure auction in 2008."
Roddy noted that, "On a month-to-month basis, posting activity for April declined 19 percent from one month earlier. That's not too surprising since a new monthly record high was established in March when 151 postings were filed against properties located in Hays County.
"So far this year," he continued, "534 postings have been filed threatening lender repossession of properties located in Hays County. This four-month level is the highest that I have ever seen for this period of time. Over the past year, postings filed for the first four foreclosure auctions of the year have increased 25 percent compared to the 426 postings filed for the same period one year earlier."
Since 2008, he said, "year-to-date foreclosure posting activity has risen 68 percent."
Year-to-date numbers for Travis County were up 38 percent; for Williamson, 34 percent and for Austin Metro, 32 percent. Bastrop saw a three percent decrease.
Given all the data, Roddy said, "This foreclosure storm is far from over. I expect foreclosure postings to continue at a high rate for quite some time."
