It’s time once again to expand on our preview of foreclosure activity with a more detailed look at February’s stats in King, Snohomish, and Pierce counties. First up, the Notice of Trustee Sale summary:
March 2011
King: 1,103 NTS, down 18% YOY
Snohomish: 593 NTS, down 5% YOY
Pierce: 616 NTS, down 24% YOY
Falling YOY in all three counties for the first time since we started comparing to the big mid-2009 legislation-induced spike. However, if you look at the trend charts below, it looks like we’re headed for another foreclosure-filled summer.
Here’s your interactive Tableau dashboard updated with the latest foreclosure data:
The other big news item for local foreclosures is the recent passage of House Bill 1362, a.k.a. the “Foreclosure Fairness Act.” The Seattle Times has a good writeup today on the issue:
More homeowners in Washington state could get help avoiding unnecessary foreclosures under a bill awaiting Gov. Chris Gregoire’s signature.
The bill, the “Foreclosure Fairness Act,” would give distressed homeowners working with housing counselors or attorneys the right to in-person mediation with the bank or company servicing their mortgage. Consumer advocates expect Gregoire to sign the bill Thursday.
…
Under the proposed law, once a homeowner becomes delinquent, the servicer must send a letter asking the owner to contact the server and urging the person to call a housing counselor or attorney for help.Homeowners who respond to the letter would be given 60 more days before the servicer could file a notice of default.
If the counselor or attorney couldn’t resolve the issue with the servicer, they could refer the homeowner to a mediator through the state Department of Commerce.
The Commerce Department selects the mediator, who must hold a session within 45 days. The homeowner and servicer share in the cost of the mediator’s fee, which can be up to $400.
In other words, expect a bunch more red tape and extra time to be added to the foreclosure process, slowing down the complete clearing of bad bubble decisions that is necessary to return to a healthy, sustainable market. I haven’t been able to find the specific date that this bill will become active, but if it’s a few months from now, we can probably expect to see another huge spike followed by a lull just like we did in 2009 when SB 5810 was passed.
Back to stats, the percentage of households in the chart above is determined using OFM population estimates and household sizes from the 2000 Census. King County came in at 1 NTS per 745 households, Snohomish County had 1 NTS per 458 households, and Pierce had 1 NTS for every 518 households (higher is better).
According to foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac, Washington’s statewide foreclosure rate for February of one foreclosure for every 220 housing units was 14th hightest among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Note that RealtyTrac’s definition of “in foreclosure” is much broader than what we are using, and includes Notice of Default, Lis Pendens, Notice of Trustee Sale, and Real Estate Owned.
Hit the jump for a larger version of the chart that shows the percentage of households in each county receiving a foreclosure notice each month:
All three counties turning up pretty strongly from the December lows. It will be interesting to see if we hit a higher point in 2011 than we did in 2010.
Note: The graphs above are derived from monthly Notice of Trustee Sale counts gathered at King, Snohomish, and Pierce County records. For a longer-term picture of King County foreclosures back to 1979, hit this chart and drag the date slider to its full range. For the full legal definition of what a Notice of Trustee Sale is and how it fits into the foreclosure process, check out RCW 61.24.040. The short version is that it is the notice sent to delinquent borrowers that their home will be repossessed in 90 days.