Bill Robinson
(Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series about the Madison County housing market in the second quarter of 2008. Wednesday’s story will report on home construction statistics, with home sales statistics to come Thursday.)
Madison County home foreclosures continued to spiral upward in the second quarter of this year.
Foreclosures totaled 86, up from 61 in the first quarter, an increase of nearly 41 percent, according to Madison County Master Commissioner David Baird.
The 147 foreclosures for the first half of 2008 is only two fewer than in all of 2006.
If the pace of foreclosures continues for the rest of the year, it could exceed the county’s 2007 total of 217 by 35.5 percent.
Foreclosures in 2007 were 45.6 percent more than the 149 foreclosed in 2006.
Across Kentucky, foreclosures were up nearly 16 percent from April through June, according to RealtyTrac.com, an online real estate service.
Nationwide, second quarter foreclosures rose nearly 14 percent, according to RealtyTrac.
Local foreclosures started a steep increase about two years ago, said Baird, who has been master commissioner for 11 years. Madison County foreclosures numbered 136 in 2005.
A referral to the master commission does not always result in an auction, Baird said.
The owner can reach an accommodation with the lender or the owner may file for bankruptcy. Jurisdiction then passes to federal bankruptcy court.
Madison County foreclosure auctions typically take place on a Wednesday or Thursday, after they have been advertised once a week for three weeks in the Richmond Register’s classified pages.
No foreclosure sales are scheduled for this week or next, but that does not indicate a slowdown in foreclosures. Baird and his staff will be on vacation.
When sales resume in August, they will be conducted at the front of the Madison County Courthouse, as is done in most Kentucky jurisdictions, the master commissioner said. Previously, Baird conducted foreclosure auctions in front of the properties being sold.
“With the price of gasoline at $4 a gallon, I think we may be able to attract more buyers by selling properties at one central location instead of them having to follow me around the county,” Baird said. “Finding a buyer is good both for the lender and the unfortunate person whose home is being foreclosed.”
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669, Ext. 267.
