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In 2008, foreclosures soared, prices fell
For homeowners, 2008 was a year to forget.Nationwide, foreclosure filings -- default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions – rose 61 percent last year from 2007, according to RealtyTrac, a California-based company that monitors the housing market.
The company said one out of every 54 homes in the country was in some phase of foreclosure in 2008, or about 2.3 million properties.
Nevada, Florida and Arizona were tops for foreclosure rates. Virginia was 16th, with 49,000 homes entering foreclosure in 2008, or 1.5 percent of all residences.
Locally, the news was not much better. For metropolitan regions, Washington, D.C., ranked 23rd for foreclosures, with about 3 percent of all homes receiving at least one foreclosure notice in 2008.
In Loudoun, nearly 1,500 properties are now owned by a bank, and last summer, Loudoun had the second highest foreclosure rate in Virginia, behind Prince William County, according to RealtyTrac.
Loudoun Sheriff's Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said that in 2008, deputies handled 1,310 property repossession cases, up from 772 in 2007. These cases, though, include cars, homes and personal items. Troxell did not know how many involved homes, but he said the spike could be attributed to additional foreclosures.
Regarding prices, the median home price in Loudoun is currently hovering at around $320,000, according to the Dulles Area Association of Realtors -- the lowest since late 2003.
When asked if Loudoun prices have bottomed out yet, DAAR CEO Jeanette Newton said, "You never know until you're past that point.” Distressed prices, though, are spurring more sales, she said.
At times in 2008, the number of homes selling in foreclosure-rich Sterling was up about 100 percent from 2007.
Encouraging news, Newton said, for a housing market in need of some.
"2009 might be the beginning of the comeback," she said.
See RealtyTrac.com and www.dullesarea.net to learn more.
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com
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