A real estate property in foreclosure that will be sold at auction is seen on Central Drive in the Middle Valley area on Monday.The number of homes in Hamilton County lost to foreclosure dipped last year for the first time in six years.
But real estate experts aren’t ready yet to declare the housing slump over.
After local foreclosures tripled in number in the 10-year-period ending in 2009, the number of properties lost to foreclosure by lenders dropped by 6.1 percent last year, according to filings with the Hamilton County Register of Deeds.
But don’t plan on that decline continuing. Experts foresee a nationwide increase in foreclosures again in 2011, which could further depress the value of many properties.
Economists said much of the decline in foreclosures last fall stemmed from the suspension of foreclosure activity by Bank of America and other major banks accused of “robo” signing foreclosure papers — signing the papers without reading them and making sure they were in legal order — and not following proper procedures to reclaim property with loan defaults.