County Mortgage Foreclosures Fell 31% in ’97

Almost 1,000 fewer Ventura County homeowners went into foreclosure last year, as the number of homes going into foreclosure statewide declined for the first time in at least five years, the result of a growing economy and rising home prices.

Formal foreclosure proceedings were started on 2,142 residential properties in Ventura County in 1997, a 31.2% decrease from 3,112 the year before, according to Acxiom/DataQuick Information Systems. Statewide, foreclosure began for 141,180 residential properties, down 13.2% from 162,597 the year before.

“Foreclosure activity is a lagging indicator and reflects year-old financial distress,” said DataQuick President Mike Ela. “Prices are going up now and fewer homeowners will find they owe more on their property than it’s worth. We expect foreclosures to decline significantly in 1998.”

The decline in foreclosure activity was most noticeable in Orange and San Diego counties. Foreclosure activity is still on the rise in the central Valley, although the numbers there are expected to decline this year.

DataQuick, a business unit of the Conway, Ark.-based Acxiom Corp., monitors real estate activity nationwide and provides information to consumers, lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts.

Foreclosure homes generally drag prices down when a significant number of them are on the market.