Columbia County continues to be one of the top foreclosure offenders. Its tale of woes goes back to a time when the foreclosure numbers had not caught the attention of the media. Since 2001 the number of foreclosures have been quietly and steadily increasing. In 2001 the total was 343. That jumped to record breaking 603 numbers of new foreclosure postings in 2007. From the present trend it seems that this year the rate will out pace the previous year’s numbers.

The impact on the property market in the county needs to be looked at from different angles. From the auditor records of the county it appears that the value of houses continued to rise through the 2000’s with the average house being sold that 13% more than the appraised worth recorded in the county offices. The average selling price in 2004 was $91,110. It rose to $97,943 during the first part of 2007. These figures are applicable only to valid sales and not to distressed foreclosure sales. The ground reality is that there are many units sitting on the shop shelves unable to attract buyers.

From another set of numbers the same conclusions can be drawn. From 2004 to 2006 the number of houses sold varied from 936 to 974 per year. But they tapered down to 399 during the first six months of 2007. Beyond this time section statistics are not as yet available. The narrowing of the divide between sale prices for the valid sales and the appraised value recorded in the office of the auditor shows that the selling rates are slumping.

This slump in the real estate market is having a negative impact on tax collections. Foreclosures are the main reason for this. The calculation of property tax expected is calculated by taking into account the delinquency rate in the district.

However there is another confusing factor as stated by the county treasurer, Nick Barborak. If the foreclosed houses are sold then the tax is collected. So sometimes advance calculations are erroneous.

At board revision meetings the property owners can contest new appraised valuation of houses. About a third of the appeals for revision came from those who had purchased foreclosed houses from the banks at a value significantly lower than the value recorded in county offices. In these cases the board has no choice but to bring down the value to be in tune with the actual price of sale.

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