Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009

Metro-east foreclosure filings on the rise

Metro-east foreclosure filings continued its recent rise last month following a drop last spring.

There were 102 foreclosures filed in Madison County in July after 77 were filed in June, and 97 were filed in St. Clair County last month compared to the 94 that came the month before.

Both counties had witnessed steep rises in monthly foreclosures earlier this year before dropping off in April and May. Madison County foreclosures reached 145 for March, and St. Clair County topped 163 that month. By April, the number of filings dropped to 51 in Madison County and 39 in St. Clair County. Foreclosures filings in both counties have been on the rise since June.

Al Suguitan, who tracks homes sales in Madison County and surrounding counties as executive director of the Greater Gateway Association of Realtors in Glen Carbon, said that he anticipates the local house market is still in transition.

"I think if we haven't hit the bottom ... we're near or close to it," Suguitan said. "The rate of foreclosure and rate of drops from month to month and year to year has declined."

This news comes as the Illinois Association of Realtors has reported that home sales across the state surged more than 61 percent in the second quarter over the first quarter --27,531 homes sold in April, May and June compared to 17,017 home sales recorded during the first three months of the year. Sales were still lower than the 32,949 sold during the second quarter in 2008.

More work has been done to bring new state and federal programs to those facing foreclosure. Last Saturday, the Illinois Housing Development Authority hosted a workshop in Collinsville to assist metro-east residents in need of such assistance through the state's Mortgage Relief Project and the federal Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, which expands the Making Home Affordable Program that was first unveiled in February.

According to Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Acting Secretary Brent Adams, 44 families attended the metro-east meeting.

"We were scheduled to be there from 9 (a.m.) to 1 (p.m.), and we had a line before 9 (a.m.) and stayed about an hour after 1 o'clock," Adams said. "These visits to housing counselors are substantive, they're case-specific and we have people waiting on people who are very patient. The services these counselors provide is very concrete and specific to individual homeowner."

According to the federal act, consumers can get credit flowing again by establishing protections while living in foreclosed homes and establish the right to know who owns their mortgage. The average homeowner could see their house price rise by as much as $6,000 by reducing foreclosures around the country, and as many as 9 million homeowners could get help making their mortgages affordable and avoid foreclosures.

The state program gives homeowners a 90-day grace period by entering counseling administered by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and the Illinois Housing Development Authority.

Crystal Ridenhour sought counseling at the workshop in Collinsville. She and her husband have six children and have lived in their Collinsville home for the past 10 years. She said the family's finances recently tightened after her husband was injured and could not work, but state counselors are assisting her family.

"They were extremely helpful," Ridenhour said.

"They were more than open and pleased to give us a call to go over everything. They were more than willing to be an advocate between me and my mortgage company."