Dallas-area foreclosure trend appears headed downward

Getting behind on the mortgage isn’t something anyone looks to do. Unfortunately, the ebb and flow of the economic tide isn’t something any of us has any control over, and an unexpected shift in personal circumstances can leave a family struggling suddenly to get by day to day.

Foreclosure can become a possibility, but it doesn’t have to be a foregone conclusion. Consulting early with an attorney can provide information about options that may stave off foreclosure or repossession. Among those options may be personal bankruptcy. By consulting an attorney it’s possible to assess all possible options to find the one that’s right for a given circumstance.

If the rate of foreclosure filings for North Texas is any indication, it may be that we are entering into a period of relative calm. Data from Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service shows that filings have fallen about 45 percent in the Dallas-Fort Worth area from where they were one year ago at this time.

The firm says that over the course of the first 10 months of 2013, the number of foreclosed homes put on the market by lenders sat at nearly 25,000. That’s 40 percent lower than for the same 10-month period in 2012.

The shift in the housing market from decline to recovery has some experts saying that our area has achieved what might be called normalcy.

Real estate agents and other analysts attribute the decline in foreclosures to rising home prices. That and low lending rates have made it easier to sell homes or refinance existing mortgages. They say lenders have also been opting for short sales to unload underwater mortgages, rather than pushing matters to the point of foreclosure.

Source: DallasNews.com, “Dallas-area home foreclosures trending toward decade low,” Steve Brown, Sept. 20, 2013