Residential foreclosures in a five-county Pittsburgh region dropped unexpectedly in July compared to June and to July a year ago, according to a report issued Thursday.
Foreclosures fell by 29.1 percent to 266 homes in July, down from 375 in July 2007, said RealStats, a South Side-based real estate information company. There were 418 foreclosures in June, a 66.5 percent increase over the 251 for the same month in 2007.
Despite July's decline, the region is still on a record-setting pace for the year. From January through July in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Washington and Westmoreland counties, there were 2,491 home foreclosures -- the highest number for the first seven months of the year since at least 1987.
The previous record for the seven-month period was 2,452 in 2006.
"While the July drop is encouraging, many remain cautiously optimistic about the outlook for the rest of 2008," said Daniel Murrer, vice president of RealStats. "July's drop could mark the beginning of a trend or just an aberration."
RealStats tracks housing statistics through public deed records.
The lower number of foreclosures may be a result of housing counseling services being offered to homeowners who received foreclosure notices, said Maryellen Hayden, head organizer for ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) in Western Pennsylvania. ACORN is one of a number of agencies supplying counseling services.
"Through counseling, many homeowners have been able to save their homes or slow down foreclosure action, through stays (delays) and motions entered into the courts," she said. "This action is starting to make a difference although a lot more work needs to be done."
Allegheny County, with 138 foreclosures, accounted for the bulk of the decline, down from 231 in July last year. Butler, Washington and Beaver, respectively, had declines of 10, 6 and 2.
Only Westmoreland showed an increase, but it was slight, with 64 in July, two more than the 62 for the same month last year.
Allegheny County Sheriff William Mullen isn't ready to say whether foreclosures will be up or down this year. His office is in charge of sheriff sales of foreclosed properties.
"We are down 47 for the year (from January through October) with 3,769 properties listed for sheriff's sale compared to 3,816 for the same period last year," he said.
His office only reports totals listed for sale, not the end result of whether the sale is completed or stopped because of legal action.
The number of sheriff's sale listings has been like a roller coaster, up and down this year, Mullen said. "They were down in August, but are up 41 in September and 101 in October, compared to the same months last year," he said.
The sheriff's sale filings include all real estate foreclosures, including commercial and industrial.
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