Foreclosure cases fall in Kansas and Missouri

New foreclosure cases in Kansas and Missouri declined sharply in the third quarter and in September from a year earlier, according to a report Thursday from RealtyTrac Inc.

The number of default notices, auctions and bank repossessions in Kansas fell 31 percent to 1,113 in the July to September period, the California-based real estate research services firm reported. The September total of 350 was down 33.5 percent from September 2013.

In Missouri, foreclosure actions in the third quarter fell 45.5 percent to 2,035, RealtyTrac said. The September total — 568 cases — was off 52 percent from the same month last year.

Nationwide, however, foreclosure activity climbed 0.42 percent in the third quarter, the first quarterly increase since the third quarter of 2011, according to RealtyTrac. September actions were down 16 percent.

“September foreclosure actions were back to pre-housing bubble levels nationwide,” said Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac vice president.

However, he said, a recent rise in scheduled foreclosure auctions in many parts of the country “shows lenders are continuing to clean house of lingering delinquent loans.”

The states with the highest foreclosure rates in the third quarter were Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada and Illinois, RealtyTrac said.

This story was originally published October 16, 2014 at 4:12 PM.