Experts in Toledo, Ohio, say residents of the city should prepare for a wave of foreclosures. Local real estate agents and national data tracking firms say that five years into the nation’s housing crisis, Toledo’s foreclosure problem remains as bad as ever.

In the first quarter of 2012, 276 foreclosure cases were filed, an increase of 6% from the same period last year, according to Lucas County records. February data from RealtyTrac shows 986 foreclosure or foreclosure-related cases in metro Toledo, a 13% increase over the first two months of 2011, according to the Toledo Blade.

RealtyTrac recorded decreased foreclosure-related activity in 13 of the 14 months in Toledo from October 2010 to November 2011. “But starting in December, 2011, we saw an increase and now we’ve seen three straight months of pretty significant increases in those default notices,” said Daren Blomquist, a RealtyTrac vice president, adding that the pattern of increase is occurring across Ohio.

Local agents disagree about when the Toledo foreclosure situation will abate. Estimates range from 18 months from now to five years to … indefinitely.

— Justin T. Hilley