By Andy Owens
aowens@scbiznews.com
Published May 13, 2009

South Carolina saw a month-to-month decline in foreclosure filings from March to April, according to data released this morning by a national real estate tracking firm.

RealtyTrac notes that the state saw a 2.41% decrease in the number of foreclosures from March to April this year. Across the country, the number of foreclosure filings increased by less than 1%, but year-over-year foreclosures were up 32% between April 2008 and April 2009.

The volatility of month-to-month foreclosure numbers was apparent in the tri-county area. Charleston County posted a 9.65% decrease from March to April, but Berkeley County saw a 40.71% increase and Dorchester County saw an increase of 10.48%.

From February to March, Berkeley and Dorchester counties each saw a 16.0% decline in foreclosures, and Charleston County had a 30% increase.

Whether that’s a true indication of what’s going on in the market is unclear because federal moratoriums against repossession of homes in the early part of the year recently expired. Some analysts predicted that would create a flood of foreclosures, but in early May, the S.C. Supreme Court issued a stay against foreclosure on any homes backed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mortgages.

Data from Charleston-based Real Estate Information Service, which tracks building, permitting and real estate sales across the state, shows Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae became the fifth-largest seller of homes in the Lowcountry in 2008, with 31% of the market.

Property repossessed by banks, called REOs, declined month-to-month nationally, hitting the lowest number since March 2008, according to RealtyTrac. South Carolina saw a similar decline in REOs, from 812 in March to 697 in April.

“This suggests that many lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria,” said RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio. “It’s likely that we’ll see a corresponding spike in REOs as these loans move through the foreclosure process over the next few months.”

RealtyTrac’s data indicated that one out of every 876 homes in South Carolina was in some state of foreclosure, which is an improvement over March, when one home in every 855 was in foreclosure. Nationally, one home in every 374 is in foreclosure, the data said.

Foreclosure numbers for April 2009 compared to March 2009

State	April 2009	% change from March
Georgia	11,521	-13.80%
Florida	64,588	37.04%
Ohio	12,324	-2.28%
Nevada	16,266	-18.05%
New Jersey	5,034	10.15%
South Carolina	2,309	-2.41%
Tennessee	3,470	-21.51%
Virginia	6,254	8.67%

Source: RealtyTrac, www.realtytrac.com

Foreclosures numbers in selected counties in South Carolina

County	April 2009	% change from March
Berkeley	197	40.71%
Charleston	337	-9.65%
Dorchester	232	10.48%
Greenville	382	-15.49%
Spartanburg	2,011	9.09%
Anderson	38	-37.70%
Richland	56	-21.13%
Lexington	71	-10.13%
Kershaw	26	36.84%

Source: RealtyTrac, www.realtytrac.com