In many parts of the country, the real estate market is finally showing signs of improvement. It’s been a long wait, as the double whammy of the real estate crisis and the Great Recession caused severe problems with mortgage debt for many homeowners.
Waves of foreclosures swept the country. And to make matters worse, real estate companies engaged in many dubious or even illegal practices along the way. We discussed some of those in our April 24 post.
But what is happening today in our area? In this post, let’s look at the data on foreclosures in San Antonio and compare it to the national scene.
It always takes a few months to compile the numbers. But according to the latest data from CoreLogic, a real estate tracking firm, the rate of mortgage foreclosure in the San Antonio area is easing.
Two years ago, in April 2011, 4.29 percent of mortgages in the San Antonio / New Braunfels area were classified as delinquent. In this context, delinquent means payments were 90 or more days overdue.
The rate kept going up in the following year, to 4.38 in 2012. But by April 2013, the delinquency rate had declined to 3.71 percent.
Similarly, the percentage of delinquent mortgage loans that are in the foreclosure process is also down. Two years ago, it was 1.23 percent. But it is now down to 1.08 percent. The national average is 2.65.
And yet, even though foreclosure rates are down, they remain high. Moreover, the improving statistics are little consolation for San Antonio homeowners who are facing foreclosure.
For homeowners with troubled mortgages who are considering their options, bankruptcy is often a sound debt relief choice. Other options, such as loan modification or a short sale, may not be availability or are limited in scope. But a bankruptcy filing can be part of a comprehensive debt relief strategy that also includes getting a handle on other debts.
Source: San Antonio Business Journal, “San Antonio area homebuyers continue to chip away at troubled mortgages, CoreLogic reports,” Tricia Lynn Silvan, June 25, 2013