Ohio had nation’s third-highest foreclosure rate in April

No other local news organization has provided more extensive coverage of the foreclosure crisis and its impact on the area than the Dayton Daily News.

Foreclosures in Ohio has reached a near six-year high as mortgage lenders seek to clear their books of troubled properties, according to a new report released Wednesday.

Ohio had the nation’s third-highest foreclosure rate in April, with one in every 427 households facing a foreclosure filing, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said. It was the first month since November 2007 that Ohio’s foreclosure rate has ranked in the top three, RealtyTrac said.

Foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — increased 12 percent from March with 11,991 filings and 23 percent from April 2012.

Scheduled foreclosure auctions in Ohio jumped 33 percent from the previous month and up 73 percent from April 2012 to a 68-month high, the report said.

Ohio Association of Realtors officials couldn’t be reached for comment.

The Dayton metro area of Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Preble counties saw foreclosure activity fall 33.5 percent from March, but increase 37.4 percent from April 2012. One in every 626 housing units had a foreclosure filing in April.

The Springfield metro area saw foreclosure activity jump 6.5 percent from March, and 34 percent from April 2012. One in every 340 households had a foreclosure filing. Champaign County figures weren’t included in the totals.

Warren County saw foreclosure activity increase 5.6 percent from March, but fall 27.4 percent from April 2012. One in every 426 households had a foreclosure filing.

Butler County saw foreclosure activity leap 164.7 percent from March, and 83.6 percent from April 2012. One in every 249 households had a foreclosure filing.

“The April numbers indicate that the pig is moving through the python when it comes to deferred foreclosures in judicial foreclosure states,” said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president, in a statement.

Foreclosure cases in Ohio must go through the court system. It’s up to lenders to file the initial complaint, for a default judgment and for an order of sale to move the process along. Mediation programs, a bankruptcy filing, or agreements on loan modifications and short sales all add to the time to foreclose, real estate experts said.