The president of the Frederick County Association of Realtors said if more banks would work with consumers on short sales, there could be fewer foreclosures on the market.Larry Riggs, who returned this week from the annual convention of the Maryland Association of Realtors in Ocean City, said a 25 percent increase in the number of foreclosures from July to August might have been smaller had there been more bank cooperation.
Realtytrac, a California-based firm that monitors foreclosures nationally, said Frederick County showed 143 foreclosures in August. Although up 25 percent from July, the figure was 4 percent less than a year ago.
Riggs said some of the inventory from last year had been moved out.
"But the rise is with short sales and banks not being responsive. We probably could have saved some of those foreclosures if the banks would have negotiated on the short sale," Riggs said Monday.
A short sale is when the buyer owes more than the house is worth and the bank, or other lender, agrees to a short — or less than value — sale.
"As long as short sales are out there, it is part of the normal process of foreclosures," Riggs said. "Some of the banks are working on this, but not all of them."
Once some of the those foreclosed homes start moving to sale, it will drop the inventory and a real estate recovery can begin, he said.
At the office where he works, Re/Max Results, Riggs said the sales board is showing more sales than listings. "And that is always a good sign, it is a healthy indicator."
Riggs said the convention focused on "looking for workable solutions," to the slow real estate market, "and building consumer confidence that mortgages are out there. The change is that people have to qualify for the mortgages."
According to the Realtytrac report, the highest number of foreclosures in the state was in Prince George's County in August with 930, followed by Montgomery County with 542 and Baltimore City with 450.
The Maryland Association of Realtors said the average price of a home sold in Frederick County in August was $298,973, down from $359,949 in August 2007. Home sales were down 9.5 percent in the county, compared to a year earlier. The MAR data is for both new and existing home sales.
