Horry County foreclosure filings fall in March

Foreclosure filings in Horry County dropped in March, the second consecutive month that the legal actions that precede foreclosures have dropped.

There were 221 foreclosure filings in Horry County in March, down almost 17 percent from the same month last year, but up almost 9 percent from February, according to RealtyTrac, a company that tracks foreclosures around the country.

Georgetown County had 20 foreclosure filings in March, a nearly 67 percent increase from the same month last year, but a 50 percent drop from February, according to RealtyTrac.

Horry County has the 12th-highest rate of foreclosure filings in South Carolina, an improvement from 2010 when it had the fifth-highest rate.

Foreclosures drive down property values and the real estate prices cannot rebound until most of the distressed properties are sold, said Tom Maeser, a real estate analyst with the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors.

Nationally, foreclosure filings were reported on 239,795 properties in March, down 35 percent from March 2010, but up 7 percent from February, according to RealtyTrac.

In March 2010, 367,056 homeowners received a foreclosure notice, the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac starting tracking the market in 2005.

Foreclosure filings in Horry County during the first quarter of the year were up more than 14 percent from the same period last year, but down almost 34 percent from the preceding quarter, according to RealtyTrac. Georgetown foreclosure filings increased almost 77 percent in the first quarter, compared to the same quarter last year and up about 35 percent from the previous quarter.

The decline in foreclosure filings might not be a sign that the foreclosure problems will disappear soon, James Saccacio, the CEO of RealtyTrac, said in a statement.

"Weak demand, declining home prices and the lack of credit availability are weighing heavily on the market, which is still facing the dual threat of a looming shadow inventory of distressed properties and the probability that foreclosure activity will begin to increase again as lenders and servicers gradually work their way through the backlog of thousands of foreclosures that have been delayed due to improperly processed paperwork," he said.

Realtor conference

The Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors is having its spring conference Monday at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

The conference, which will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., will include workshops about contracts, how to succeed in the real estate market and an economic update.

There will also be a trade show running throughout much of the conference and free headshots, health screenings and chair massages will be available.

The event is free to members, or $50 for non-members.