In comparison to last year, very few properties were foreclosed by lenders in Bexar County till date this year. This is a positive sign for the foreclosure status of this county although there is another wave of foreclosures awaiting auction in May.

According to a foreclosure listing group in San Antonio, RexReport.com, between January and May 2012, the total Number of foreclosure postings are expected to move down by 12.4% compared to the number in the same period last year.

Till date, there are 5,824 housing units in this county which are on the list of foreclosure auctions for May. But according to the database of this agency, there were only 1,168 properties listed for the May 2011 auction, so this year the number has increased by 14.7%.

The reason behind this dual database is that when the local economy is trying to improve, it is getting affected by outside forces. After the 49-state settlement, the rate of foreclosure activity has not yet returned to its usual pace, so the number is still quite low.

According to a research economist at the Real Estate Center of Texas A&M University, James Gaines, by the end of this summer, the total number of foreclosures are likely to increase because lenders will start processing their suspended foreclosure cases along with new ones at their usual speed. He added, “We’ve been expecting a pickup in the rates and foreclosures to start hitting at any time because of the settlement with the attorney generals.”

He also stated that the wave in May could be a part of this and “Texas and most of the Texas markets won’t feel that impact as much. We just haven’t had that foreclosure problem as much as other places.”

The rate of unemployment is decreasing in San Antonio which has also helped to decrease the Total Number of foreclosure postings. Although the total number of new foreclosures being listed is quite low; there are many foreclosure cases pending from 2004-2007. So Gaines said, “That was the peak period where you had a lot of liar loans, the no-documentation loans. We still haven’t worked through all of those problem loans. It’s true nationally. It’s true statewide.”

According to him, 2011 was a transition period when the impact of the bad loans was decreasing but those bad loans may now increase the rate of foreclosures.

Photo by Cooldesign.

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