OxfordPress.com

The housing market appears to be improving locally as fewer properties were sent to foreclosure auction this past year.

According to figures released by the Butler County Sheriff's Office, 1,390 properties were sent to foreclosure auction in 2008 compared to 1,572 properties in 2007, a difference of 182 homes, said Lt. Mike Smith.

Also, foreclosures decreased in December, with 50 properties sent to auction in 2008 versus 87 in 2007, the report stated.

However, speculators are still buying properties and holding them for when the market improves, said Mark McDermott, a spokesman for nonprofit housing group Enterprise Community Partners.

"Neighborhoods devastated by foreclosures are at a tipping point," he said. "Getting these properties into the hands of community groups, instead of speculators, will go a long way toward stopping the downward spiral."

Which is what the U.S. government is hoping its Neighborhood Stabilization Program will help do. Congress allocated $3.9 billion in July for the program. Ohio is slated for $263.6 million — $4.2 million of which is headed to Butler County. Michael Juengling, county development director, has said $1.2 million will go to help people facing foreclosure keep their homes.

Meanwhile, local nonprofits have been working to push state legislatures to halt foreclosure proceedings for up to six months. The action could allow more banks to refinance loans and offer more time for residents to rectify mortgage issues, said attorney Carrie Dettmer Slye of Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio.

Legal Aid, along with Neighborhood Housing Services, has been unsuccessfully trying to obtain support for the moratorium from Butler County leaders. In Hamilton County, commissioners passed a resolution in support, and Cincinnati is considering a similar act, said Dettmer Slye.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.