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Kansas was one of only 18 states where foreclosures increased in November, bucking a national trend.
Nationally, home foreclosure actions dropped an average of 7 percent in November, according to a monthly survey by RealtyTrac. The rate in Kansas incresed 7.9 percent.
In Johnson County, 1 of every 930 homes entered foreclosure. The numbers were even worse in Wyandotte County, where 1 of every 348 homes entered foreclosure.
While the Kansas numbers are significant, they may represent more an anomaly in reporting than a worsening of the local economy. In October, Kansas bucked the national trend again, that time reporting a 36.8 percent drop in foreclosures when the national average was up 5 percent.
The overall foreclosure rate in Missouri dropped 21.4 percent in November. But the numbers in Jackson and Clay counties weren't pretty.
In Clay County, 1 of every 212 homes entered foreclosure. The number for Jackson County was 1 in 462. In Platte the number was 1 in 1,787.
Nationally, foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 259,085 properties during November.
The represents a drop of 7 percent from October, but a 28 percent increase from November 2007, according to RealtyTrac
In Missouri, 2,885 homes entered foreclosure -- including 462 in Jackson County, 212 in Clay County and 20 in Platte County.
In Kansas, 708 homes entered foreclosure, including 227 in Johnson County, 193 in Wyandotte and 22 in Leavenworth County.
James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's CEO, said the national drop in the foreclosure rate can be attributed to a holiday foreclosure moratorium by some lenders and laws enacted in some states to protect homeowners from foreclosure.
“There are several indications, however, that this lower activity is simply a temporary lull before another foreclosure storm hits in the coming months," Saccacio said.
“Delinquencies on loans not yet in the foreclosure process jumped to nearly 7 percent in the third quarter, a record high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association,” Saccacio said. ”And more than half of the homeowners who received loan modifications to reduce monthly mortgage payments in the first half of 2008 are already delinquent on their loans again."
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