Commercial foreclosure postings increased 136 percent in Denton County for the first seven foreclosure auctions of the year compared with the same period last year, according to a report by Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.

There have been 156 commercial foreclosures posted this year through July, compared with only 66 posted commercial foreclosures through July last year, the report stated.

The highest foreclosure posting increases were seen in apartment buildings, office buildings, retail centers and industrial buildings, said Bonnie Brown, a spokeswoman for the listing service.

“Denton County has seen tremendous gains in four property types, some with zero postings last year to a significant number this year,” Brown said. “It’s not unexpected to see a gain, but that’s a tremendous gain.”

She said most of the commercial postings were small, nondescript properties that weren’t in prime locations.

Denton County doesn’t have the largest number of commercial foreclosures compared to Dallas and Tarrant counties, but the foreclosures in the county have grown faster than those counties, said George Roddy Sr., president of the listing service.

Collin County’s foreclosure postings grew by 76 percent during the same time period.

“Both Denton and Collin counties have seen tremendous growth in both the commercial and residential real estate markets over the last decade,” he said. “That growth has led to these two suburban counties laying claim to a bigger piece of the foreclosure pie.”

More raw land is popping up this year on the foreclosure postings, with 30 more than last year listed so far, Brown said.

The foreclosure listings of undeveloped land show that lenders have become very selective in making loans on new development projects, she said.

“Some developments under construction have now halted, and land owners that bought on speculation or bought as a developer can no longer finance the project,” Brown said. “We’ll continue to see this trend throughout this year.”

In the late 1980s, the last foreclosure posting boom, the majority of the properties were prime real estate, she said.

However, this time around, there are a lot of small mom-and-pop properties, which shows the trickledown effect of the economy, Brown said.

Anecdotally, note-buying commercial property foreclosures have increased this year, she said, adding that a recent market study stated an average buyer can pick up these residential and commercial foreclosure listed properties for 59 to 60 cents on the dollar.

Before foreclosure listings can return to normal, there will need to be a significant change in rising unemployment numbers, which likely will not happen this year, Brown said.

“I haven’t seen enough of a significant change in the economy and there is no reason for it to improve right now,” she said.

CANDACE CARLISLE can be reached at 940-566-6889. Her e-mail address is ccarlisle@dentonrc.com .