POSTED: Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009

Whatcom County foreclosure filings down compared to earlier this year

After running at elevated levels earlier this year, the number of Whatcom County foreclosures appears to be returning to much lower monthly totals, according to a new national report.

In November there were 71 foreclosure filing notices, including 20 for bank repossession, according to RealtyTrac, an online site that tracks foreclosure filings across the country. A check of the Whatcom County Assessor's Office Web site has similar numbers of trustee sale notices - typically the first stage of a foreclosure filing - to what RealtyTrac was reporting in November.

RealtyTrac's November total nearly matches that of October, and is down from the spring and early summer months, when filings averaged above 120 a month.

The decrease appears to be mirroring national trends. RealtyTrac reported an 8 percent decrease in total filings in November compared to October, marking the fourth straight month that U.S. foreclosure activity has declined after hitting an all-time high in July.

"Loan modifications and other foreclosure prevention efforts, along with the recently extended and expanded homebuyer tax credit, are keeping a lid on the most visible symptoms of the nation's ailing housing market," said James J. Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, in a press release accompanying the data. "This is providing a welcome respite for the real estate industry, but a full recovery will only come when unemployment recedes to normal, healthy levels and when availability of credit reaches a more rational balance between the extremes of the past few years."

According to RealtyTrac, one Whatcom County household for every 1,219 received a foreclosure filing notice last month. The Washington state rate was one for every 835 homes, while the national rate was one for every 417 households.

Nevada, Florida and California continue to post the highest state foreclosure rates, while Washington ranked 28th highest. In terms of raw numbers, California, Florida, Illinois and Michigan accounted for 52 percent of the nation's total foreclosure filings in November.