Isle foreclosure filings dip further

November marked a new low last year for the number of foreclosure cases initiated against Hawaii property owners, according to the most recent data from the state Judiciary.

There were 178 new cases filed in Circuit Court statewide in November. The prior low was 204 cases in October.

The volume in November continued a trend of fewer new cases that began to emerge in the later half of 2013, as new case volume decreased from between 346 and 450 during the first five months of the year to about 200 per month since June.

It’s not possible to fairly compare the monthly data to the same months a year earlier because volume was influenced by two overhauls made to Hawaii foreclosure law in the middle of 2011 and 2012.

The changes to the law make it difficult to assess the extent to which Hawaii’s improving economy and real estate market may be helping reduce foreclosures as opposed to any seasonal influences.

"I like to think that the worst is over, but I don’t really know,"said George Zweibel, a foreclosure attorney on Hawaii island.

Some observers point to declining unemployment and bankruptcies as indicators that suggest the growing economy is helping reduce the number of foreclosures. Rising real estate values and efforts by lenders to modify more troubled home loans also may be at work.

Artificial and unsustained reductions to foreclosure case volume occurred in recent years due to the law overhauls made by the Legislature to protect consumers from lenders rushing foreclosures through an out-of-court, or nonjudicial, process with little oversight.

One side effect of the changes was that many foreclosure cases were prolonged. Under the first major overhaul, the law required that lenders had to stop foreclosure and then restart the process in many cases.

The first overhaul also attempted to let homeowners receive help from mediators, but lenders avoided that provision by filing all new cases in court, where foreclosure takes longer and costs more but doesn’t require mediation.

The second overhaul, which took effect in 2012, made more changes, including one requiring that attorneys attest to the accuracy of all documents filed by lenders in court. To comply with this provision, lenders and attorneys adopted new procedures that triggered a slowdown that lasted for several months.

Starting this month, more meaningful year-over-year comparisons should provide a clearer picture of foreclosures in Hawaii.