ELWOOD — Start the bidding.

Over the next month, 134 Madison County homes will be put up for auction in a sheriff’s sale, a result of foreclosures.

Of course, the countywide foreclosure crisis is only a microcosm of the growing housing dilemma nationwide.

Plummeting home values, the ever-climbing cost of living and a near-crippled economy are all being blamed for the skyrocketing foreclosure rates plaguing the country.

More than 1,110 homes in Madison County have been either foreclosed upon or are in pre-foreclosure status, according to Realtytrac, a nationwide online tracking Web site.

Abby Ramsey, who handles the sales at the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, said Anderson used to lead the county in foreclosure rates but not anymore.

“I have seen an increase in the houses that I’m selling.,” Ramsey said. “It used to be mostly Anderson, and now the Elwood list has increased.”

Fifteen of the 65 homes up for auction at the July 18 sheriff’s sale are located in Elwood. This, Ramsey said, is a drastic increase. “It used to be that if I had one or two, that would be a lot for Elwood.”

With 6.8 percent of 2,508 owner-occupied homes in foreclosure, Elwood beats Anderson by a full 2 percent.

With foreclosed homes popping up in every Elwood neighborhood, it’s nearly impossible to sell a home at the same price it listed for last summer, explained Bob Jones of Bob Jones Realty in Elwood.

“People that have nice homes, their homes have to compete in sale price with the foreclosures,” Jones said. “These foreclosures are killing the property values of those that have clean, nice homes.”

The recent loss of 500 jobs due to two plant closings in Elwood, with a third closing rumored to be soon, has hardly improved the outlook for residents hoping to keep home values up.

Pendleton leads in county foreclosure rates with 7.5 percent of its 813 owner-occupied homes in pre-foreclosure, owned by banks, or up for auction.

How it happens

According to Ramsey, most homeowners losing their homes began falling behind in payments about six months ago.

Ramsey said homeowners must miss three house payments before a bank begins foreclosure proceedings. It then takes between six to eight months from the final missed payment for the home to find its way into her records.

Once the homes are put up for auction, Ramsey said, the property usually ends up in the hands of the bank responsible for the initial mortgage.

In April 2007, Ramsey said she saw just 76 homes for auctions in her sheriff’s sales. This April, she handled 150.

The difference was less drastic in May, with only a five-home difference year-to-year, but the increases, she said, show no signs of slowing.

As houses empty across the county, with homeowners being kicked off their property and forbidden from returning, area lawns are being neglected.

Elwood building commissioner Tom Doan said he juggles more than 400 empty homes in the town, primarily as a result of foreclosures.

“You can drive up any street in town and there’s at least one repo,” he said. “That’s the reality right now.”

Doan said he’d seen an increase in neglected lawns of about 100 homes over last year. The rows of unkempt lawns are hurting the housing market, he said.

“I think it’s affecting the real estate, not just in Elwood, statewide and nationwide,” he said. “It’s common sense that people looking to buy a house in any neighborhood, they don’t want to see five empty houses next to it. It’s not just Elwood — it’s all over.”

It’s a buyer’s market

While it may be impossible to sell a home for the price you want, those looking for a bargain are in luck, according to Rob Sparks, executive director of the Corporation for Economic Development.

“Obviously, from our perspective on the economic development front,” Sparks said, “the foreclosure market has offered up some fairly good investment opportunities for real estate in a market that was already fairly priced.”

The low home values may attract outside investors to the area, Sparks said.

Investors will have to scoop up available properties while they can as Sparks believes the decline has reached its breaking point and will turn around soon. “The sense from the local banking (community) that I’ve talked to is that we’re probably through the worst of that.”

While it may not seem too reassuring in comparison with mounting foreclosures, lagging home sales and doomsday news stories filling the air, Sparks said he was confident that the economic downturn in the housing market was on its way up.

“We’re turning that corner and coming back,” he said.

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Madison County and surrounding area statistics are listed below for current foreclosure numbers. Each city is listed with the number of homes it has in foreclosure, its total number of owner-occupied households and the percentage of homes in foreclosure:

Pendleton: 61 (in foreclosure), 813 (total owner-occupied homes) and 7.5% in foreclosure

Elwood: 171 (in foreclosure), 2,508 (total owner-occupied homes) and 6.8% in foreclosure

Alexandria: 93 (in foreclosure), 1,614 (total owner-occupied homes) and 5.7% in foreclosure

Middletown: 29 (in foreclosure), 514 (total owner-occupied homes) and 5.2% in foreclosure

Anderson: 692 (in foreclosure), 14,320 (total owner-occupied homes) and 4.8% in foreclosure

Frankton: 18 (in foreclosure), 496 (total owner-occupied homes) and 3.6% in foreclosure

Ingalls: 11 (in foreclosure), 299 (total owner-occupied homes) and 3.6% in foreclosure

Lapel : 19 (in foreclosure), 522 (total owner-occupied homes) and 3.4% in foreclosure

Chesterfield: 28 (in foreclosure), 835 (total owner-occupied homes) and 3.3% in foreclosure

Summitville: 11 (in foreclosure), 326 (total owner-occupied homes) and 3.3% in foreclosure

Yorktown: 14 (in foreclosure), 1,312 (total owner-occupied homes) and 1.0% in foreclosure

Sources: Realtytrac (sata as of July 1, 2008), 2000 U.S. Census