Foreclosures plummet in Will County

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A foreclosed home is shown in this 2009 file photo. | AP

Updated: February 13, 2012 9:16AM

The number of properties in Will County with foreclosure filings fell 33 percent in 2011 compared to 2010.

The total had been climbing from 3,154 in 2006 to a high of 11,027 in 2010. But last year’s number dropped to 7,387, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com).

Sizeable drops also were recorded in Kendall and Grundy counties. Properties with foreclosure filings in Kendall County totaled 1,542 in 2011, down 41 percent from 2,612 in 2010. In Grundy County the number of properties with foreclosure filings totaled 240 last year, down 28 percent from the previous year.

Even with the declines, Kendall and Will counties remained among the top four counties for properties with foreclosure filing rates in Illinois last year.

Kendall stayed in first place, as it has been for several years, with a rate of one filing for every 23 households. Will County was fourth with its rate of one filing for every 31 households. Grundy County was 13th with a rate of one in every 78 households.

The number of properties with foreclosures filings last year dropped 32 percent in Illinois, which was ranked eighth in the nation, and it dropped 34 percent nationwide.

The statistics compiled by RealtyTrac included default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

The company’s report shows that the percent of U.S. homes with at least one foreclosure filing fell from 2.23 percent in 2010 to 1.45 percent last year. The nation’s foreclosure filing rate of one in every 69 households was the lowest rate since 2007.

RealtyTrac officials attribute last year’s drop in foreclosure activity more to delays in the process than a housing industry recovery.

“The lack of clarity regarding many of the documentation and legal issues plaguing the foreclosure industry means that we are continuing to see a highly dysfunctional foreclosure process that is inefficiently dealing with delinquent mortgages — particularly in states with a judicial foreclosure process,” said Brandon Moore, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

“There were strong signs in the second half of 2011 that lenders are finally beginning to push through some of the delayed foreclosures in select local markets. We expect that trend to continue this year, boosting foreclosure activity for 2012 higher than it was in 2011, though still below the peak of 2010.”