Foreclosure rates in Ohio's biggest metropolitan areas have dropped well below pre-recession levels.
Foreclosure filings — described as default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — in the first quarter of this year were down 45% in the Columbus area compared with the average over the seven quarters that led up to the recession, which began in December 2007.
The analysis was released this morning by Attom Data Solutions, formerly known as RealtyTrac.
Foreclosure filings were down 59% in Cleveland, 45% in Toledo, 38% in Dayton, 36% in Akron and 28% in Cincinnati.
"Foreclosures are definitely not an overwhelming problem for the (Ohio) market. They have been reduced to the level that the market can handle," said Daren Blomquist, Attom's senior vice president. "There (are) always some foreclosures."
That the levels have dropped so far might reflect tougher lending standards by banks, Blomquist said.
The drop in foreclosures is reducing the inventory of properties in some markets where the number of homes available for sale already is low, said Matthew Watercutter, senior regional president of HER Realtors, which covers the Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati markets
"The markets HER Realtors serves are 28% to 45% below pre-recession levels," Watercutter said.
"The reduced number of foreclosure properties is consistent with low unemployment rates, and is contributing to the lack of inventory available to consumers," he said. "That low inventory, coupled with increased demand, is causing an increase in housing costs, a reduction in days on market, and causing frustration among homebuyers wanting to purchase."
Nationwide, foreclosures in the first quarter were 16 percent below the pre-recession level, and they were down in 102 of the 216 metros areas included in the study.
In areas where foreclosures remain high, the reason usually boils down to the lengthy foreclosure process or weakness in the local economy, Blomquist said.
