Foreclosure activity still strong in Tri-Cities, Kane

According to the latest data supplied by foreclosure tracking company RealtyTrac, home foreclosure activity remained high locally in January.

RealtyTrac’s data indicated that 223 homes were at some stage of the foreclosure process last month in a nine-ZIP code area that includes St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Elburn, North Aurora, Sugar Grove, Maple Park and much of Campton Hills.

Last month’s numbers marked a 16 percent increase in local foreclosure activity, compared to January 2012. At that time, 192 homes in that region were moving through foreclosure, RealtyTrac said.

The total number of homes moving through the foreclosure process within that region matched exactly the 223 homes undergoing foreclosure in January 2011, according to RealtyTrac.

Within the ZIP codes for the Tri-Cities of St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia, last month’s foreclosure number was unchanged from January 2012. In both months, the three communities logged 101 new foreclosures, down from the 146 foreclosures in the Tri-Cities in January 2011.

The largest increases from January 2012 to January 2013 came in Elburn, where home foreclosures jumped from 10 in January 2012 to 23 last month; South Elgin, where foreclosures increased from 34 in January 2012 to 45 last month; and North Aurora, from 27 in January 2012 to 33 last month, according to RealtyTrac.

Geneva also saw a surge in foreclosures in January, as new foreclosures jumped from 12 in 2012 to 22 last month. But foreclosure activity ebbed in Batavia, dropping to 18 in January from 27 in the same month last year.

The January numbers mark a continuation of foreclosure activity observed throughout much of 2012, as the number of foreclosures in the region surged by about 40 percent in 2012, compared to 2011.

Many foreclosed properties continue to find new owners, however, as so-called distressed properties – those sold under foreclosure or as a short sale – account for about a third of all homes sold in the Tri-Cities and nearby communities, according to home sale data supplied by the MainStreet Organization of Realtors.