The current struggles of the oil-based economy of the Houma-Thibodaux, La., area has led to an increase in foreclosures, a new report says.
Attom Data Solutions, curator of the nation's largest fused property database, released its 1Q and March 2017 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report earlier this month.
The report tracks three different fillings in the foreclosure process. Lis pendens filings are the initial step in the foreclosure process, followed by notices of foreclosure sales. Finally, the report tracks real estate-owned properties, foreclosed properties repurchased by a bank.
"We separate those out because those indicate slightly different things going on," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president for Attom Data Solutions. "For our overall foreclosure rate, we look at basically activity between all three of those, and, as a percentage of housing units, tells us how a certain area ranks and compares to other areas in terms of foreclosure activity."
In the first three months of 2017, the Houma-Terrebonne metropolitan statistical area had 46 lis pendens filings, 72 notices of foreclosure sales and 36 real estate owned properties. One in every 544 housing units in the Houma-Thibodaux area received a foreclosure notice during the time period.
Houma-Thibodaux has the 88th highest foreclosure rate among the 216 metropolitan statistical areas tracked in the report.
"It's usually tied to some underlying economic pinpoint," Blomquist said. "There's a pretty direct connection if people start losing jobs or seeing lower income, that's going to affect their ability to make their mortgage payment. That usually is a very good indicator of some underlying economic problem in that market."
Figures released recently by the Louisiana Workforce Commission showed the Houma-Thibodaux area lost 6,600 jobs during 2016. About 1,400 jobs directly related with oil and gas production were lost last year, while 2,600 other oilfield-related jobs were lost.
All three fillings tracked in the report have increased in the Houma-Thibodaux area over the past year. In the final quarter of 2016, Houma-Thibodaux had 10 lis pendens filings, 36 notices of foreclosure sales and 46 real estate owned properties. The first quarter of 2016 saw Houma-Thibodaux with 20 lis pendens filings, 36 notices of foreclosure sales and 1 real estate owned properties.
"We're seeing increases in all three of those fillings," Blomquist said. "It is kind of broad based, which indicates a little bit of a more widespread problem, in that market, that is at least emerging. The foreclosure rate is still relatively low compared to other parts of the country, but those increases are a concerning trend."
Blomquist said foreclosure numbers typically improve as lenders adjust to the new economic reality of an area.
"The new loans being originated in that market," Blomquist said, "they're going to be given to people who still do have the jobs. You will see it just naturally improve eventually, unless you continue to see more and more loss of jobs."
