The gain in filings represents the largest absolute gain in recent history and the largest relative
gain since 2002, according to the study, Foreclosure Growth in Ohio 2007. It comes after three
years of smaller increases. Filings grew by double-digit rates in 68 of Ohio’s 88 counties in
2006, and statewide, they have nearly quintupled since 1995.
Cuyahoga County again led the state in foreclosure filings per person, followed by Montgomery
and Summit counties. Fast-growing Delaware County led the state in foreclosure-filing growth
between 2005 and 2006, as filings soared nearly 50 percent. Since Franklin and Pickaway
counties also showed among the fastest growth in filings last year, three of the top ten counties
with the highest growth were in the Columbus area.
Filings grew somewhat faster in urban counties than in the state as a whole, and the ten most
populated counties dominate the list of those with the most filings per person. However, during
2006, 78 of Ohio’s 88 counties saw an increase in the number of filings. The number of filings
grew by 20 percent or more in 46 counties.
“Foreclosures have become a pervasive problem in Ohio,” said Zach Schiller, Policy Matters
research director and author of the report. “Additional steps should be taken to provide relief to
borrowers harmed by abusive lending practices and to bolster protection for home buyers.”
Foreclosure filings at least doubled in all but two of Ohio’s counties over the past 11 years; in 82
counties, the number at least tripled, and in 70, it quadrupled.
Policy Matters Ohio For Immediate Release: 3/26/2007 Foreclosure filing data does not provide a complete picture of foreclosures, as it includes nonmortgage
filings and double filings. Not all filings lead to actual foreclosures, in which
borrowers lose title to their property. On the other hand, filing statistics do not cover all cases in
which homeowners lose their property, such as cases in which they give the title back to the
lender and walk away from the home. Filing data is the best source of information to compare
recent levels of foreclosure activity in the state and among Ohio’s counties.
Policy Matters Ohio conducts a biennial survey on sheriff sales of foreclosed properties in Ohio.
Surveys last year and previously indicate that while the number of families actually losing their
homes to foreclosure is considerably lower than the number of filings, it has grown sharply and
tens of thousands of Ohio households are losing their homes to foreclosure each year.
Policy Matters Ohio is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institute with offices in Cleveland and
Columbus.