Foreclosures in TX decline

Texas real estate foreclosures declined during the month of November, and are also down compared with the same month last year.

According to a November report released Thursday by Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, a total of 7,843 homes in Texas entered the foreclosure process, a 20 percent drop from October 2008 filings and a 32 percent decline from filings from the same month last year.

In Dallas, 5,719 properties are listed for foreclosure by RealtyTrac, with 4,638 listed in Fort Worth, 2,035 in Arlington and 809 in Plano.

Nationwide, foreclosure filings fell 7 percent from October postings but rose 28 percent compared with the same month last year. According to the report, 1 in every 488 households in the U.S. were in foreclosure in November.

Foreclosure activity in November hit the lowest level weve seen since June thanks in part to recently enacted laws that have extended the foreclosure process in some states, along with more aggressive loan modification programs and self-imposed holiday foreclosure moratoriums introduced by some lenders, said James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac. There are several indications, however, that this lower activity is simply a temporary lull before another foreclosure storm hits in the coming months.

Saccacio said delinquencies on loans not yet in the foreclosure process jumped to nearly 7 percent in the third quarter, which is a record high according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Many of those delinquencies could translate to more foreclosures in 2009, he said.