Fewer homes were posted for foreclosure this year in Denton County compared with last year, according to a recent study conducted by Foreclosure Listing Service Inc.

Denton and Dallas counties were the only two in the 19-county study that showed decreased net foreclosure postings, said George Roddy Sr., president of the Addison-based listing service.

“We got a pretty good indicator [from the study], which is, Denton is faring better than most of other counties in [the] metro area,” Roddy said.

In the year-to-year comparison, the net foreclosures for Tarrant County rose 1 percent and Collin County increased 13 percent, he said.

The information shows that Denton County and Dallas County likely made more progress with short sells and loan modifications of foreclosure properties than other counties, Roddy said. However, he warned, it’s difficult to read much into the numbers.

The 19-county study — which compared North Texas with other areas of the state — shows an overall net increase of 4 percent for the posting activity this year compared with last year.

However, the four-county Dallas-Fort Worth area decreased 4 percent in net foreclosures, with 33,503 postings in 2009, the data indicated.

The study omitted reposted foreclosures, which surged 88 percent in 2009 in the 19-county study area, according to the report.

The reposted foreclosures accounted for 44 percent of the total residential posting activity for the year, the data showed.

The reason behind the increased repostings was lenders postponing foreclosure because of a tremendous number of loan modification requests from homeowners, Roddy said.

“Many of these homeowners are so far behind on their mortgage payments that the foreclosure process has already begun,” Roddy said. “It appears that the lenders just keep reposting these homes for foreclosure until the loan modification review has been concluded.”

While it’s still difficult to get home loans from banks, a federal program for first-time homebuyers that was expanded to include existing homeowners has helped stimulate the buyer’s market, Roddy said.

There are also historically low interest rates, which help draw more buyers into the market, he said.

“We are seeing more home loans made — the non-funny money types — but the slowdown in lending is certainly there,” he said.

The mortgage lending environment is far better in Denton County than other areas of the nation, and local loans are still being made, said Wes Pakebusch, production manager at PointBank Mortgage in Denton.

“The options have gone down to an isolated few,” Pakebusch said. “Instead of 33 flavors of loans to choose from, now there are VA, FHA and USDA guaranteed programs.”

While there are fewer options for individuals looking for home loans, there also are fewer brokers in Denton County, he said, and business has increased as PointBank Mortgage picked up market share this year.

The conventional loan market has tightened drastically, and loans without 20 percent down are basically nonexistent, he said.

Cash-out refinancing, once a popular way to finance a startup business or pay for college, also has dried up, Pakebusch said.

“Texas has very strict equity laws, compared with the rest of the country, which is one reason why Texas is stable in comparison,” Pakebusch said. “Many of the national investors have pulled out cash-out refinance, and the options [have] gone down to [an] isolated few investors.”

Those limitations impact Denton County residents, as investors pull away from funding specialty mortgage loans, including rural properties and homes with hangars or barns, Pakebusch said.

“When you get into an area like Denton and surrounding cities, the properties aren’t just cookie-cutter properties, and a lot of investors have pulled away,” Pakebusch said.

The foreclosure postings likely will remain the same in 2010, Roddy said, as bad loans continue to circulate out of the system.

Foreclosures are a lagging economic indicator, and there won’t be many positive changes to the postings until unemployment numbers decrease, Roddy said.

“There’s nothing on the horizon to positively impact what is happening today,” he said. “For another six to eight months, at least, there will be heavy foreclosure activity.”

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

Net Residential Postings Analysis

Repostings not included

                          2008                         2009

County                        Postings                       Postings                      Change

Denton                        3,760                       3,568                     -5 percent

Dallas                        16,801                       14,791                   -12

Tarrant                        10,553                       10,690                      1

Collin                        3,957                       4,454                    13

Rockwall                        623                       641                      3

Grayson                         521                       585                    12

Ellis                        830                       1,004                    21

Kaufman                        787                       845                      7

Johnson                        546                       667                    22

Parker                        453                       602                    33

McLennan                        756                       772                      2

Bell                         991                       1,072                      8

Travis                        2,538                       3,308                    30

Williamson            1,676                       2,168                    29

Hays                        502                       682                    36

Bastrop                        258                       290                    12

Bexar                        7,165                       8,717                    22

Comal                        344                       345                      0

Guadalupe            337                       439                    30

TOTAL                        53,398                       55,640                      4

Source: Foreclosure Listings Service, Inc.