San Antonio foreclosed homes for sale and residential foreclosures in other parts of Bexar County reached a record-high total of about 16,000 units in 2009, based on public records and data from local foreclosure research firms.
In addition to the 16,000 units, another 1,652 units have been notified of foreclosure in December and will be sold off at auction next year. The December filings marked the biggest monthly total recorded in about 20 years, prompting local housing analysts to contend that the housing market in San Antonio and in the entire Bexar County will still be struggling next year.
Foreclosure specialist Gregg Stanley said that Bexar foreclosure figures are still better than other places in the state and in the country, but the foreclosure levels are still high. He added that around 30 percent of the December foreclosures will be sold off at the January public auction and another 20 percent are being readied for bulk investors at bargain prices. He added that a lot of renters will also be affected by the foreclosures.
Bexar County judge Stephen Walker stated that his court has been issuing about 40 eviction notices each week to renters and homeowners, but he is suspending evictions this week so that individuals and families can spend Christmas in their homes.
Local real estate analysts said that foreclosed houses for sale in other parts of Bexar County have been rising since 1997 despite some months of improvements in the foreclosure situation.
According to James Gaines, economist at the Texas A&M University Real Estate Center, real estate participants are not very optimistic about the Bexar housing market because of the expected resetting of adjustable-rate mortgage loans.
Gaines said that there are a lot of borrowers in Texas who took out ARM and interest-only home loans during the boom years of 2004 to 2006 and the readjustment of these loans have just started and will continue into the next year.
Based on another report, almost 10 percent of mortgages in San Antonio in September were underwater. Analysts contended that the percentage could have increased since then. Underwater homeowners are at high risk of foreclosure because they could not sell their homes at a price that would cover their debts.
Moratoriums have been implemented in Texas, but these only delayed foreclosures and did not resolve them.
