Foreclosed houses for sale surged in number in Dayton, Ohio in January as unemployment spread out into affluent neighborhoods and rural areas.
According to data from a California-based foreclosure tracking firm, a total of 1,420 households in the Dayton metro area were hit with delinquency or foreclosure notices in January, up by 52 percent from the 936 foreclosures filed in January last year and by 75 percent from the 810 postings in December 2009.
Seven of the eight counties that comprise the Dayton metro area showed increases in residential property foreclosures in January, with Butler County posting the highest number of filings and Darke County posting the highest increase rate. Butler County posted a 51-percent decrease in filings despite having the highest number.
Montgomery County, which is partly covered by the Dayton metro area, posted 1,206 foreclosures, a 60-percent jump from 753 filings in January last year and an 83-percent jump from postings in December 2009.
In 2009, Miami County posted a 26-percent jump in foreclosure filings, the highest increase from 2008 among the Dayton counties. In Clinton, which was severely affected by the departure of shipping company DHL from Wilmington, the number of delinquent properties and repossessed homes for sale soared by 36 percent from 2008.
Statewide, the number of foreclosed houses for sale increased last year compared to foreclosures in 2008. Based on records from the Ohio Supreme Court, foreclosure activity in Ohio surged to more than 89,000 foreclosure filings, marking a 3.8-percent jump from the 85,773 foreclosures posted in 2008.
The foreclosure increase rates of 3 percent and 3.8 percent in 2008 and 2009 were both weaker than the five-percent increase in 2007 and the staggering 24-percent rise in 2006.
According to Ohio housing officials, a bigger number of foreclosures are occurring in rural and wealthier counties where people bought large homes they can no longer afford to pay. Of the 88 counties in Ohio, 65 counties are experiencing sharp increases in foreclosures.
To help mitigate the rising number of foreclosures in Ohio, 26 nonprofits in 57 counties across the state have been allocated $4.2 million to improve affordable housing in the area. The money was coursed through the Housing Assistance Grant Program and funded by the Ohio Housing Trust Fund.
With the funding, about 250 families would be provided with home buying counseling, about 60 families would be given down payment assistance and about 1,360 foreclosed houses for sale will be rehabilitated and resold to lower-income families.
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