Default filings down by a third in Ada & Canyon Counties

The local real estate market seems to be headed in the right direction in regard to stability.  The next 6 months will provide additional information on the direction that our market is headed yet the following information provides a “snap shot” of year to date activity.

Homeowner default rates on homes loans within Ada and Canyon counties will fall well short of 2010 levels.  Overall filings (the starting of the foreclosure process) are down 34 percent.

There were 228 default filings in November for Ada County, down from over 260 within the month of October. The monthly average of default filings for Ada County in 2011 is 265.  Total default filings for 2011 in Ada County were 2,918—down 34% from the previous year.

In Canyon County, however, default filings were up.  Last month there were 184—approximately 23 more default filings from the previous month.  The monthly default average for Canyon County is 176.  Through November, the total default filings for Canyon County were 1,944.

The most recent “high” for default filings in Ada and Canyon counties was in March of 2010.  Default filings, however, slowed as lien holders became concerned about the processing of foreclosure documents.  This prompted some lenders/services to revise their foreclosure processes.  As you most likely know, banks are now releasing their inventory (foreclosed homes) in a manner that does not depress the market further.

Most statisticians feel that an influx of bank owned property will hit the real estate market during the spring of 2012.  Default filings typically increase after the Winter Holiday Seasons, as well.

Bank owned listings dropped nearly 3 percent from October to November in Canyon and Ada Counties while short sales on the market are down 3 percent.