2nd-Quarter Foreclosures Fall 17% Countywide

Ventura County turned in the strongest performance in California during the second quarter in terms of reducing home foreclosures, a real estate information service reports.

Lenders started foreclosure proceedings on 579 houses and condominiums in the county during the first three months of the year, representing a 17% decline from 698 proceedings in the first quarter, according to Dataquick Information Systems.

The reduction in actions against Ventura County homeowners contrasts with an increase of 4% statewide and a decrease of less than 1% in the first quarter for Southern California. For California as a whole, a total of 32,904 proceedings were started in the first quarter.

Compared to the first quarter a year ago, foreclosure activity fell 1% in Los Angeles County but rose 11% in Santa Barbara County.

While Southern California foreclosures are declining, the region still has a serious loan default problem, Dataquick said.

“Southern California accounted for a higher portion of the state’s foreclosure activity a year and two years ago,” said Donald L. Cohn, the reporting service’s chief executive. “The region was hit early and hard by the declines in home prices, and foreclosures skyrocketed. That spike in activity is what the region is coming down from right now.”

Dataquick’s statistics show that most homeowners are eight to 10 months behind in their mortgage payments when the foreclosure process is begun. Homes that have gone through foreclosure sell for an average of 12% to 15% less than comparable properties, Dataquick reported.