Foreclosures slowing in S.C.

Staff Report
Published March 14, 2013

Foreclosures in February were down in South Carolina and across the nation, according to data released by RealtyTrac.

In the state, one in every 739 homes had a foreclosure filing, representing a decrease of nearly 35%, the foreclosure tracking firm said.

Nationwide, one in every 849 homes had a foreclosure filing on it. That’s down 25% from February 2012.

“At a high level the U.S. foreclosure inferno has been effectively contained and should be reduced to a slow burn in the next two years,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “But dangerous foreclosure flare-ups are still popping up in states where foreclosures have been delayed by a lengthy court process or by new legislation making it more difficult to foreclose outside of the court system.

“Foreclosure starts have been steadily building in those states over the last several months and likely will end up as bank repossessions or short sales later this year,” Blomquist added.

Nationwide, foreclosure starts increased 10% from last month, but are still down from 2012. Judicial states, including South Carolina, could see an uptick in foreclosure activity as homes work their way through the process, RealtyTrac said.