By Anita Miller
In the last analysis of the year, the rate of foreclosures in Hays County was 79 percent higher than in December of 2008, with 125 properties included.
There were also 66 percent more properties (396) listed for public auction in the fourth quarter of 2009 than a year prior, and taking the whole year into account, 2009 will go down as having a 55 percent higher rate (1,470) of foreclosures than the year prior.
“This is the highest level that I have seen since we began tracking postings in this market and I believe it to be the record,” said George Roddy, president of Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.
“Since FLS began tracking foreclosure postings in Hays County, the only other year that posting activity topped 1,000 was in 2004 when 1,044 foreclosure notices were filed.”
Roddy noted that December is the “11th month in a row that foreclosure posting activity has topped 100,” though Hays postings “inched down to percent from the 127 notices filed for the November auction.”
In comparing this December’s postings with those of a year ago, only Williamson County’s 89 percent increase was higher than Hays. In Travis County the increase was 40 percent and in Bastrop, 11 percent. For the Austin Metro area, which includes all four counties, the increase was 55 percent.
Hays County’s increase was also second to Williamson in fourth quarter comparisons. Williamson County has a fourth-quarter increase of 72 percent compared to 2008; while Travis’ rose 56 percent and Bastrop’s, 28 percent. For the Austin Metro area as a whole, the fourth quarter increase was 60 percent.
Taking the year as a whole, Hays’ increase of 55 percent was behind Williamson County’s 61 percent increase, Travis County’s 58 percent increase and Austin Metro’s 57 percent increase.
Bastrop County once again had the smallest increase of 39 percent.
The FLS statistics include all types of properties, including residential, commercial and industrial buildings and vacant land.
Public auctions are held on the steps of the Hays County Courthouse at noon on the first Tuesday of the month.
December’s auction will be Dec. 2.
