Tarrant Business

Number of home foreclosures falling nationwide, CoreLogic reports says

 Lenders completed about 760,632 foreclosures nationwide in the 12 months ending Jan. 31, according to a CoreLogic National Foreclosure Report released today.

Texas was among the top five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures during that 12-month period, with 59,232 foreclosures, CoreLogic said.

California led with 96,051 foreclosures, followed by Florida with 95,492, and Michigan with 73,761 foreclosures.

Approximately 1.2 million homes were in some stage of foreclosure in the U.S., known as the foreclosure inventory, as of Jan. 31 compared to 1.5 million at Jan. 31, 2012, a 21 percent year-over-year decrease, said Irvine-based CoreLogic, a residential property information, analytics and services provider.

Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 4.2 million completed foreclosures across the country, CoreLogic said.

"The backlog of distressed assets continues to fade as the foreclosure inventory has fallen to a level not seen since mid-2009, with less than 3 percent of all mortgages in foreclosure," said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist.

Added Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, "We still have over a million homes in some stage of foreclosure which is too high, but the continuing downward trend in completed foreclosures is a very positive signal that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We expect this trend will continue in 2013 as the housing market stabilizes and purchase activity picks up."

The five states with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending Jan. 31 were District of Columbia, 96; Hawaii, 458; North Dakota, 508; Maine, 538; and West Virginia, 602.

Approximately one-third of homes nationally are owned outright and do not have a mortgage, CoreLogic said.

_ Sandra Baker

LaGrave Field sold to Cats ownership group for $4.5 million

LaGrave Field, home to the Fort Worth Cats minor league baseball team, was sold to an affiliate of the team’s ownership group Tuesday morning for $4.5 million. The transaction, conducted outside the Tarrant County courthouse during a foreclosure auction, will give the team a home “for a long, long time,” said John Bryant, managing partner of FW Stadium Group LLC, which bought the property. Bryant said he is also managing partner of the Cats. The 13.2-acre parcel sold includes the stadium and land immediately around the facility extending to Sixth Street on the south.

Former Cats owner Carl Bell built the stadium in 2002 and went on to accumulate 58 acres in the area, on which he planned a mixed-use development of residential, retail and office space. But after the economy weakened, Bell defaulted on a $12.5 million loan from Houston-based Amegy Bank earlier this year. Amegy had posted the facility twice previously but the foreclosure was withdrawn after talks were extended both times. Bryant said the ownership group, which bought the team from Bell in December 2011, wasn’t certain what the stadium’s ultimate sales price would be, but he said the $4.5 million was about what they expected “it might reasonably be because of previous negotiations.”

-- Jim Fuquay

Cash America withdraws IPO for online lending unit

Fort Worth-based Cash America International, the nation's largest operator of pawn shops, has asked to withdraw its initial public offering proposed for its online consumer loan unit, named Enova International. Cash American last September filed for the IPO, which it estimated could raise up to $500 million. "The company has determined not to proceed with the public offering contemplated in the registration statement at this time," Cash America's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said. It did not elaborate. A company representative said Wednesday the company will discuss the move during its second-quarter earnings conference call set for Thursday morning.

Cash America acquired Enova in 2006 for $250 million. It had intended to retain a minority stake in the company after the IPO.

-- Jim Fuquay

Panda Power financing seen as breakthrough

A new electricity plant planned for Temple (the Star-Telegram's report is here) is more than just good news for the state's capacity-strapped power grid. Market observers say Panda's success selling $330 million in high-yield bonds represents a big step for U.S. banks trying to revive investor interest in new project financing. According to Reuters,it's "the first term loan financing to carry construction risk since a Missouri-based coal plant called Plum Point received financing in 2006."

The Reuters story is here.

-- Jim Fuquay