Foreclosure filings in the Washington region dropped by more than half in the first three months of the year, but an uptick in March foreclosures indicates the region isn’t out of the woods yet. Of the more than 6,600 foreclosure filings in local jurisdictions during the first quarter, March accounted for between 40 percent and 50 percent of filings, according to a report by foreclosure tracking firm RealtyTrac. Many experts had predicted that states would see an increase in filings during the first half of 2011 as the national investigation into the foreclosure process wound down.
“The March increase shows that in fact the trend we were seeing in previous months is not a long-term trend but more of a temporary lull,” said RealtyTrac spokesman Daren Blomquist.
Source: RealtyTrac
| Foreclosure filings down across region | ||||
| But increased activity in March causes bump in Prince George’s: | ||||
| Total Q1 | Q1 rate | Change from | Change from | |
| filings | per unit | Q4 of 2010 | Q1 of 2010 | |
| Washington area | 6,619 | 1/326 | -18% | -52% |
| D.C. | 63 | 1/4,526 | -84% | -88% |
| Montgomery | 424 | 1/863 | -37% | -73% |
| Prince George’s | 2,005 | 1/161 | +16% | -47% |
| Alexandria | 108 | 1/655 | -30% | -52% |
| Arlington | 104 | 1/998 | -10% | -47% |
| Fairfax | 1,163 | 1/339 | -20% | -44% |
| Loudoun | 474 | 1/224 | -15% | -45% |
| Prince William | 856 | 1/161 | -26% | -46% |
However, the bump also could be caused by banks hustling to file before the quarter ended on March 31, said economist Anirban Basu.
“There is this tendency among financial service providers to want to consolidate bad news into one or two quarters,” said Basu, CEO of Sage Policy Group in Baltimore.
Both said they did not expect March’s activity to wreak havoc on the spring housing market as banks slowly put foreclosures on the market to keep prices steady.
Overall, the Washington region recorded a 52 percent drop in filings compared with the first three months of 2010, nearly twice as good as the national decline of 27 percent. Montgomery County led the quarter with a 73 percent drop in filings. Meanwhile, Prince George’s County, which has fallen behind its neighbors in the recovery, accounted for nearly one-third of all filings.
Prince George’s is the only jurisdiction where filings rose between the last three months of 2010 and the first three months of 2011.
Basu said the vast number of foreclosures in Prince George’s is holding back progress.
Prices are significantly lower in Prince George’s, with the average house selling below $160,000. Median prices in neighboring Montgomery County and the District are at least $330,000. But the county also has seen an uptick in house contracts, and Basu said more investors are buying distressed property there.
