I was talking with a local banker at a Christmas party yesterday and he asked me a question about foreclosures in our market and if we were seeing things start to stabilize. My answer was, “no, we’re not nearly where we need to be and where many on a national level are.” But, I decided this morning to take a closer look at the specifics as we get close to the end of the year, and what I found somewhat shocked me! Through November of 2013, there have been 1,227 sales in Franklin county. That is only 1 sale below where we were last year. But of those sales, 240 were foreclosure/short sale/REO (bank owned) properties. That represents 19.6% of all sales for the year! And of the homes on the market today, there are 110 of 879 homes that are in the same situation. In January, there are another 71 NEW homes on the sheriff’s sale list. When you include the 75 that have been continued from previous sales that’s 146 homeowners currently facing foreclosure. Obviously, our housing market is not in the same position of positive growth as many other areas of the country.
If you know someone who is struggling to pay their mortgage, suggest they talk with someone-starting with their lender. Contact a Realtor, but find one who has done short sales. There are many of us who have taken additional courses to assist homeowners through the process. It doesn’t always work, but it beats the alternative of doing nothing.