By Andy Owens
aowens@scbiznews.com
Published Oct. 16, 2009

The number of foreclosure filings against distressed property in Dorchester County dropped more than 20% from the second quarter to the third quarter, according to numbers released by RealtyTrac.com.

The county saw a 12% decrease compared with the same quarter a year ago. But that doesn’t mean Dorchester County is free from troubled real estate assets.

The data also show that Dorchester County has one of the highest rates of foreclosure in the state. One in every 139 homes in Dorchester County has at least a notice of default filed against it, giving it the state’s second-highest ranking.

Charleston County saw an increase of 3.65% from Q2 to Q3, and Berkeley County saw an increase of 15.6%.

Across South Carolina, foreclosures were up 11% in the third quarter of 2009 compared with the second quarter, according to data from RealtyTrac, a national real estate tracking firm.

South Carolina ranked 24th out of the 50 states for the number of foreclosures filed in the third quarter. One out of every 268 homes in the Palmetto State was listed as being in distress, data from RealtyTrac showed.

RealtyTrac ranks each county by the number of homes in an area compared with the number of homes in foreclosure in that area. For smaller counties, this offers a truer picture of what’s happening rather than a percentage increase.

Using this measurement, Beaufort County the state’s highest number of foreclosures per property owned. One home out of every 109 homes in Beaufort County had at least one foreclosure filing against it. Dorchester County ranked No. 2, with one home out of every 139 homes, and Greenville County ranked third, with one home out of every 155 homes with at least one foreclosure filing.

Counties with the lowest rate of foreclosures were Lee County, which posted no foreclosure filings in the latest three months of 2009. Union County came in next-lowest, with one out of every 13,513 homes in distress, and Chesterfield County rounded out the bottom three, with one out of every 9,785.

Regional foreclosure numbers for the second and third quarters of 2009

Source: RealtyTrac.com