Foreclosure actions decline in Kansas and Missouri

Foreclosure activity in Kansas and Missouri fell sharply in July from a year earlier, an industry report said Thursday.

RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., company that compiles housing market data, said 507 properties in Kansas were facing default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions last month. That was down 30.2 percent from July 2013.

However, when compared with June, foreclosure actions were up 24 percent statewide.

In Missouri, 736 properties were scheduled for foreclosure actions last month, down 48 percent on an annual basis from July 2013 and down 22 percent from June.

Nationwide, 109,434 properties were in some stage of the foreclosure process last month, a 2 percent increase from June.

Despite the rise, foreclosure activity was 16 percent below a year ago. It was the 46th consecutive month in which activity declined on an annual basis.

RealtyTrac said the one month increase in activity was no cause for alarm.

“After nearly four years of falling foreclosures, we are starting to see evidence that foreclosure numbers are normalizing at the national level,” said Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac vice president.

This story was originally published August 14, 2014 at 9:32 AM.