Real Estate | Foreclosures climb in November

More foreclosures look to be on the horizon for the Grand Strand as prices continue to drop at among the highest rates in the state, according to statistics released this week.

There were 493 foreclosure-related filings in Horry County in November, up about 28 percent from the same month last year, according to RealtyTrac, a company that tracks foreclosures nationally. Of those filings, a large majority, 350, were lis pendens, the documents lenders file to start the foreclosure process, an indication that more foreclosures are headed down the pipeline.

About one in every 356 properties on the Grand Strand has a foreclosure filing, the fifth-highest rate of foreclosures in the state, according to RealtyTrac. Statewide, about one in 517 properties have foreclosure filings, the 10th-highest rate of any state in the country, according to RealtyTrac.

November was the first month South Carolina has had one of the 10 highest foreclosure rates in the country since RealtyTrac started tracking foreclosures in 2005, according to the company.

“It might have to do with the banks moratoriums, freezes starting to come off,” said Tom Maeser, a real estate analyst with the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors. “They’re probably starting to release some of the foreclosures they were holding back.”

There has been and continues to be concern among Realtors that banks have been delaying the start of some foreclosures and holding others off of the market, which is creating a “shadow inventory” of the troubled properties, he said.

“Basically it means a continued improvement in sales and continued devaluing of our housing market,” Maeser said.

Those distressed properties - the foreclosures and properties nearing foreclosure that are sold as short sales- typically sell for significantly less than other properties on the market, which drives down overall property values, he said.

In November, the median price of homes and condos sold along the Grand Strand was about $137,900, down 11 percent from the same month last year, according to a report released this week by the South Carolina Realtors association. That price drop was the second highest of any area in the state, with only the Greenwood area seeing a greater loss in value, according to the S.C. Realtors report.

Statewide, the median price was down only 0.7 percent to $149,000 last month when compared to November 2010, according to the association.

The low prices on the Grand Strand are helping drive sales, which were up 4 percent in November compared to the same month last year, according to S.C. Realtors. The boost in sales is less than the 6.6 percent statewide increase last month, according to the report. The Greenwood area had the biggest gains in sales, a 33.3 percent increase and the Columbia area dropped the most, 71.7 percent in November compared to the same month last year, according to the S.C. Realtors report.

The Grand Strand’s high concentration of investor property owners - about two-thirds of the local real estate market - sets it apart and has contributed to the high rate of foreclosures and accompanying price drops, Maeser said. Investors are also helping keep the market going, paying cash in a tough financing environment, he said. About 50 percent of sales last month were paid for in cash, he said.