But both Crawford and Russell Kashian, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin in Whitewater, said that the decline should not be treated as a declining trend because there are other factors that affected the foreclosed home listing numbers.

Kashian cited the lesser number of days in the month of May that lenders can make foreclosure filings in court. Crawford also admitted that some counties might have not reported their May filings yet.

Crawford’s report showed 2,174 foreclosure filings in May, a drop of 14.5 percent from the 2,543 filings in April. But when compared to the 1,954 filings in May 2008, last month’s filings increased by 11 percent.

In a report released last week by Mortgage Bankers Association last week, it said that 5.75 percent of home loans across Wisconsin were in default as of the end of March and that 3.11 percent were already in foreclosure home listing inventories.

In the southeastern part of Wisconsin, foreclosure filings declined in May by 11 percent to 946, but when compared to the 784 cases filed in May 2008, the filings this May represented an increase of 21 percent.

Kashian also said that foreclosed home listing inventories are expected to increase as the rising number of job losses across the state will increase the number of borrowers unable to make their monthly payments. The jobless rate in Wisconsin has increased to 8.8 percent in April, more than twofold the unemployment rate in April 2008.

Meanwhile in Milwaukee, Mayor Tom Barrett has been promoting his foreclosure prevention programs. He has even held a press conference in front of one of the city’s foreclosure properties.

Currently, there are over 1,800 vacant foreclosure houses across the city and approximately 4,500 units are currently in danger of being foreclosed.

Milwaukee administers an educational program for home buyers. It teaches financial literacy and home ownership and it even coaches prospective home buyers on how to buy a home from foreclosed home listing inventories.

The city has also partnered with the nonprofit Habitat for Humanity for the rehabilitation of abandoned units from foreclosed home listing inventories and the construction of affordable homes on lots acquired by the city.

Foreclosed Home Listing Drop in Wisconsin, Not a Trend is a post from: Listings Foreclosures