By Annie Goeller, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
Fewer local homes went into foreclosure at the start of this year than in 2008 when Johnson County set a local record for foreclosure filings.
But bank presidents and real estate agents say the drop in filings likely won't last.
Sheriff sale listings, which are what banks are required to file when they foreclose on a home, dropped in both January and February from the previous year.
In January, 74 foreclosures were filed in Johnson County, compared with 90 in 2008. In February, the county had 43 filings, compared with 72 in 2008.
The two-month total so far this year is down nearly 28 percent from the same time period in 2008.
The decrease is likely due to some banks putting a freeze on foreclosures, waiting to foreclose until more details from the federal stimulus plan are set and working with homeowners to avoid foreclosure, banking and realty experts said.
Filings will likely increase in future months, they said.
"I really don't think it's gotten a lot better yet," said Steve Bechman, president of Heartland Community Bank.
Bechman believes the drop was mainly because of banks that are more willing to avoid foreclosure by either restructuring homeowners' payments or by using another option, called deed and lieu, which allows the homeowner to avoid foreclosure by giving the house back to the bank.
Another possibility is large, national banks freezing or delaying foreclosures, said Bob Heuchan, president of Mutual Savings Bank.
Some banks have put a nationwide freeze on foreclosures, and some are waiting to see what happens with the federal stimulus plan, which is expected to provide additional assistance to homeowners who are in or nearing foreclosure, he said.
Other than those possibilities, Heuchan said, he hasn't seen any other indicators that foreclosures will continue slowing.
Jarvis Realty Group managing broker Tony Nally agreed, saying he has seen a slight slowdown since late last year, when talk began of a federal plan to help homeowners.
The surge of foreclosure listings that he saw last year, where he would get as many as 12 listings a month, has slowed. But he's still getting three to four listings a month, which is about equal to the rate of 2008.
He said he expects the foreclosure rate this year to be nearly equal to 2008 and to stay there for the next one to two years.
Last year, Johnson County hit a record high in foreclosures, with 1,077 new filings, 21 percent more than in 2007.