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County's July foreclosure rate 2nd highest in state
Loudoun homeowners are still struggling to keep their homes off the auction block.
Despite reports of an upturn in homes sales this summer, Loudoun in July saw a 54 percent increase in foreclosure filings from the same month in 2007, according to new data from California-based RealtyTrac.com. The county had the second highest rate of foreclosure filings in Virginia last month.
Foreclosure paperwork was filed against one out of every 169 homes in Loudoun in July, a rate second in the state only to Prince William County, which saw a rate of one out of every 103 homes.
A filing does not necessarily mean a home was lost to foreclosure. It can be a default notice, auction sale notice or bank repossession.
In July, 581 homes in Loudoun were in some stage of foreclosure, compared to 378 a year earlier. Meanwhile, Virginia was 10th in the country in July with 5,745 foreclosure filings, according to RealtyTrac.
Nationwide, foreclosures were up 55 percent in July from the year before, with one in every 464 households receiving foreclosure paperwork last month.
“The sharp rise in REOs [bank repossessions], combined with slow sales, has resulted in a bloated inventory of bank-owned properties for sale," said RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James Saccacio in a statement.
But despite the news, sales are picking up in Loudoun.
In July, according to a report by the Virginia Association of Realtors, the number of homes sold in Loudoun rose 7 percent during the second quarter of 2008 from the same period last year. The average sale price, however, was down 20 percent.
"The sheer number of foreclosures continues to put downward pressure on prices," authors of the study wrote, "but they also bring new home buyers into the market."
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com
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