An ever-strengthening economy, decreased unemployment and tighter lending practices have led to a stronger housing market with fewer foreclosures, Mutual Savings Bank President and CEO David Coffey said.
The number of homes in sheriff’s sales due to foreclosure dropped 29 percent in 2018, compared to 2017, according to data from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
In 2017, 303 homes were in sheriff’s sales. In 2018, that number dropped to 215.
By comparison, in 2009-10, more than 1,200 homes were sold at sheriff’s sales due to foreclosure.
Of the 215 sheriff’s sales, 115 of the homes were in Greenwood, 46 in Franklin and 22 occurred in Whiteland, with the other 32 foreclosures in smaller Johnson County cities and towns.
“We went into the Great Recession and with that economic situation home values were dropping, people were losing their jobs and the unemployment rate was high,” Coffey said. “Now there’s stronger economic conditions. Unemployment was double digits but now it’s below four percent in the state—3.5 percent—and three percent in Johnson County.”
Coffey said with the recession and housing crisis came stronger regulations on housing loans, meaning homeowners who were approved went through more intense credit checks than those before the recession.
“The regulatory environment caused lenders to tighten underwriting standards on loans,” Coffey said. “(Before the recession) people were on loans that were putting people in homes they couldn’t afford. Regulations tightened some of that.”
The decrease in Johnson County was more pronounced than in other central Indiana counties. Hendricks County saw a 6.2 percent decrease in foreclosures from 2017 to 2018, Shelby County saw a 4.5 percent decrease and Hancock County saw an 11.8 percent decrease.
