Capital Region foreclosure activity mixed in 2014

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

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Foreclosure activity was down across the country last year, up in New York and a little of both in the Capital Region.

RealtyTrac, a California firm that tracks nationwide foreclosures, released its year-end figures this week. Foreclosure filings — including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 1.1 million properties across the U.S. in 2014, down 18 percent from 2013 and the lowest annual total foreclosures since 2006.

“The U.S. foreclosure numbers in 2014 show a foreclosure market that is close to finding a floor and stabilizing at a historically normal level,” said RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist in a news release. “But a recent surge in foreclosure starts and scheduled foreclosure auctions in several statuses in the last few months of 2014 indicate that lenders are gearing up for a spring cleaning of deferred distress in the first half of 2015 in some local markets.”

In the Capital Region, foreclosure activity continued to vary widely by county. Albany, Montgomery and Schenectady counties all saw foreclosure activity increase last year.

• Albany County reported 881 foreclosure filings in 2014, up more than 41 percent from the year before. This means that one in every 156 properties in the county were in some stage of the foreclosure process last year.

• Montgomery County reported 192 foreclosure filings in 2014, up just 0.52 percent from the year before. This means that one in every 120 properties were in some stage of foreclosure last year.

• Schenectady County reported 155 foreclosure filings in 2014, up 6.16 percent from the year before. This means one in every 439 properties were in some stage of foreclosure last year.

• Fulton County reported 186 foreclosure filings in 2014, down 10.14 percent from 2013. This amounted to one in every 153 properties in some stage of the foreclosure process last year.

• Saratoga County reported 590 foreclosure filings in 2014, down 2.32 percent from 2013. This means one in every 167 properties were in some stage of foreclosure last year.

• Schoharie County reported 94 foreclosure filings in 2014, down 12.96 percent from 2013. This means one in every 183 properties were in some stage of foreclosure last year.