Foreclosures rise in the Austin area

Postings climb 31% in November.

By Shonda Novak
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, October 18, 2008

November foreclosure postings in the Austin area jumped 31 percent compared with a year ago, and climbed 26 percent year-to-date, the latest figures show.

Foreclosures could remain high for the foreseeable future, two experts predicted. But they added that the situation wouldn't be nearly as elevated as in many other places in the country, such as Nevada, California and Florida.

In the Austin area, 884 properties were posted for the Nov. 4 foreclosure auction, compared with 673 properties in November 2007, according to Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service Inc, which tracks the numbers. Through November, 8,225 properties have been posted for foreclosure compared with 6,543 from the period from January to November of last year, the company said. The Austin-area figures are a combined total for Travis, Williamson, Hays and Bastrop counties.

In Travis County alone, 457 properties were posted for foreclosure, a 44 percent jump over November 2007, and year-to-date postings have risen 31 percent.

Foreclosures have been on the rise locally and nationally, fueled by factors that include lenient lending practices that made it much easier for many homebuyers to qualify for mortgages they ultimately couldn't afford.

George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service, said foreclosure postings most likely have peaked, but he added that he expects the current levels to hold through 2009. The average loan on November postings was made four years ago, and problematic loans continued to be made through early 2007, leaving at least a couple years of troubled loans to be weeded out.

Robert Grunnah, owner of Castle Hill Investments LLC, an Austin-based residential investment property brokerage, said foreclosures probably will rise in Central Texas in the next 12 to 18 months as credit markets right themselves.

But Grunnah added that Austin should be spared the foreclosure fallout that many other markets are seeing, because properties didn't appreciate wildly during the boom.

Grunnah said the vast majority of foreclosures are occurring in outlying suburban areas such as Kyle, Buda, Elgin and Manor, where homebuilders sold homes with zero-percent down payments "to people who couldn't afford to make their payments."

Roddy said the 2009 foreclosure outlook is somewhat tentative because it's unknown whether or how the government might aid homeowners who are behind on their mortgages. If there's no help, "we could see high foreclosures for up to two more years," Roddy said.

Grunnah also said that just because a property is posted for foreclosure doesn't mean it will be foreclosed on. Experts advise homeowners with delinquent mortgages to talk with their lenders.

snovak@statesman.com; 445-3856