In November, foreclosure activity decreased of 3 percent from October and is down 19 percent from November 2011 — marking the 26th consecutive month with an annual decrease in foreclosure activity, according to RealtyTrac.
“The drop in overall foreclosure activity in November was caused largely by a 71-month low in foreclosure starts for the month, more evidence that we are past the worst of the foreclosure problem brought about by the housing bubble bursting six years ago,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “But foreclosures are continuing to hobble the U.S. housing market as lenders finally seize properties that started the process a year or two ago — and much longer in some cases. We’re likely not completely out of the woods when it comes to foreclosure starts, either, as lenders are still adjusting to new foreclosure ground rules set forth in the National Mortgage Settlement along with various state laws and court rulings.”
High-level findings from the report:
• U.S. foreclosure starts were down 13 percent from the previous month and down 28 percent from a year ago to the lowest level since December 2006 — a 71-month low.
• U.S. bank repossessions (REO) increased 11 percent from the previous month and were up 5 percent from November 2011, a nine-month high and the first year-over-year increase in REOs since October 2010.
• Despite the national decrease in foreclosure activity — driven largely by big year-over-year drops in California, Georgia, Michigan, Texas and Arizona — foreclosure activity increased from a year ago in 23 states and the District of Columbia. Nine states posted 12-month highs in foreclosure activity in November, including Florida, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and South Carolina.
• Florida posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the third month in a row, with one in every 304 housing units with a foreclosure filing in November, followed by Nevada, Illinois, California and South Carolina.
• Seven of the top 10 highest metro foreclosure rates nationwide were in Florida, led by Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville. The other three metros in the top 10 were in California.
• Among the five lenders involved in the National Mortgage Settlement — Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citi and Ally/GMAC — non-judicial pre-foreclosure activity (NOD, NTS) decreased 41 percent in November compared to a year ago, led by Bank of America with a 63 percent decrease and Citi with a 40 percent decrease.
Meanwhile judicial pre-foreclosure activity (LIS, NFS) for the five lenders combined increased 26 percent from a year ago, led by Chase with a 114 percent increase and Wells Fargo with a 37 percent increase. Foreclosure starts drop to 71-month low in November Foreclosure starts — default notices or scheduled foreclosure auctions, depending on the state — were filed for the first time on 77,494 U.S. properties in November, down 13 percent from the previous month and down 28 percent from November 2011.
November’s foreclosure starts were at the lowest level since December 2006. Foreclosure starts decreased from a year ago in 28 states, including Oregon (84 percent), Pennsylvania (67 percent), California (63 percent), Arizona (59 percent), and Georgia (51 percent). Foreclosure starts increased from a year ago in 18 states, including New Jersey (538 percent), Arkansas (455 percent), New York (209 percent), Washington (97 percent), and Connecticut (95 percent).
Bank repossessions increase annually for the first time in 25 months Lenders completed the foreclosure process on 59,134 U.S. properties in November, an 11 percent increase from the previous month and a 5 percent increase from November 2011 — the first year-over-year increase in bank repossessions since October 2010, when the practice of robo-signing foreclosure documents came to light and caused a sharp slowdown in foreclosure activity in the following months.
REO activity increased annually in 29 states and the District of Columbia. Some of the biggest increases were in Indiana (96 percent), Arkansas (88 percent), Missouri (87 percent), New Jersey (84 percent), and Connecticut (60 percent). REO activity decreased annually in 21 states, including Nevada (64 percent), Oregon (58 percent), Massachusetts (49 percent), Utah (47 percent), and Tennessee (22 percent).
Florida, Nevada, Illinois post highest state foreclosure rates The Florida foreclosure rate ranked highest among the states for the third month in a row. One in every 304 Florida housing units had a foreclosure filing in November — more than twice the national average. A total of 29,612 Florida properties had a foreclosure filing in November, up 3 percent from the previous month and up 20 percent from November 2011. Despite a 54 percent year-over-year decrease in foreclosure activity, Nevada posted the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate for the second month in a row in November.
One in every 390 Nevada housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month. One in every 392 Illinois housing units had a foreclosure filing in November, the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate. A total of 13,520 Illinois properties had a foreclosure filing during the month, down 9 percent from the previous month to a seven-month low, but still up 9 percent from November 2011 — the 11th straight month where Illinois foreclosure activity has increased on a year-over-year basis. Other states with foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest were California (one in 430 housing units with a foreclosure filing), South Carolina (one in 455 housing units), Ohio (one in 458 housing units), Arizona (one in 468 housing units), Georgia (one in 494 housing units), Michigan (one in 621 housing units), and Indiana (one in every 684 housing units).
Florida cities account for seven of top 10 metro foreclosure rates Florida cities accounted for seven of the top 10 foreclosure rates among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more. The Florida metro of Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville led the way, with one in every 158 housing units with a foreclosure filing in November — more than four times the national average. Other Florida cities with top 10 metro foreclosure rates were Ocala at No. 2 (one in 210 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Jacksonville at No. 4 (one in 253 housing units); Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 5 (one in 260 housing units); Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice at No. 8 (one in 277 housing units); Port St. Lucie at No. 9 (one in 278 housing units); and Gainesville at No. 10 (one in 283 housing units). The remaining three cities with top 10 metro foreclosure rates were in California: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 3 (one in 248 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Stockton at No. 6 (one in every 265 housing units); and Modesto at No. 7 (one in every 270 housing units).
The three California metro areas in the top 10 all posted annual decreases in foreclosure activity while the seven Florida metro areas in the top 10 all posted annual increases in foreclosure activity. Florida and California metro areas accounted for 16 of the top 20 highest metro foreclosure rates.
Other cities with foreclosure rates in the top 20 were Rockford, Ill., at No. 11 (one in 290 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Chicago at No. 13 (one in 306 housing units); Las Vegas at No. 16 (one in 336 housing units); and Dayton, Ohio, at No. 18 (one in 338 housing units).
Report methodology The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month — broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the month may have been recorded in previous months.
Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee’s Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank).
The report does not count a property again if it receives the same type of foreclosure filing multiple times within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located.
Foreclosure Market Data by State – November 2012 Properties with Foreclosure Filings Rate Rank State Name NOD LIS NTS NFS REO Total 1/every X HU (rate) %Δ from Oct 12 %Δ from Nov 11 -- U.S. 13,591 36,919 42,343 28,830 59,134 180,817 728 -3.02 -19.42 18 Alabama 0 0 1,318 0 876 2,194 990 22.02 47.94 20 Alaska 0 0 230 0 68 298 1,030 138.40 70.29 7 Arizona 6 0 2,888 0 3,188 6,082 468 -10.11 -43.51 41 Arkansas 0 0 294 0 201 495 2,659 -5.53 209.38 4 California 10,785 0 13,272 0 7,737 31,794 430 -11.82 -50.08 13 Colorado 28 0 1,692 0 1,096 2,816 786 -28.42 -25.36 22 Connecticut 0 891 0 74 447 1,412 1,054 -21.69 74.97 26 Delaware 0 124 0 73 151 348 1,166 14.10 -35.79 District of Columbia 0 0 1 0 11 12 24,727 9.09 71.43 1 Florida 0 12,466 0 8,929 8,217 29,612 304 2.88 19.70 8 Georgia 0 0 4,149 0 4,123 8,272 494 -11.14 -32.90 43 Hawaii 72 19 31 0 50 172 3,020 6.17 -73.00 24 Idaho 191 0 258 0 153 602 1,109 -27.64 -28.42 3 Illinois 0 4,277 0 5,044 4,199 13,520 392 -9.26 9.05 10 Indiana 0 841 0 1,825 1,419 4,085 684 5.83 31.14 21 Iowa 0 813 0 197 269 1,279 1,045 -38.42 39.93 28 Kansas 0 312 0 309 362 983 1,255 19.73* 23.65* 30 Kentucky 0 444 0 408 593 1,445 1,334 44.36 96.07 34 Louisiana 0 247 0 509 474 1,230 1,598 -26.70 -22.40 14 Maine 0 700 0 58 77 835 864 537.40 74.32 15 Maryland 0 1,095 0 1,194 409 2,698 882 77.15* 107.38* 36 Massachusetts 0 1,226 0 121 375 1,722 1,631 -43.93 -30.68 9 Michigan 0 0 3,341 0 3,955 7,296 621 -2.21 -47.04 17 Minnesota 0 0 1,292 0 1,266 2,558 918 21.93 -1.16 46 Mississippi 0 0 20 0 204 224 5,691 -17.65 -4.68 29 Missouri 0 0 853 0 1,276 2,129 1,274 2.80 -7.64 48 Montana 0 0 3 0 49 52 9,285 -37.35 -79.84 42 Nebraska 97 0 101 0 97 295 2,701 63.89 -37.89 2 Nevada 1,348 0 893 0 766 3,007 390 -9.81 -53.82 23 New Hampshire 0 0 299 0 279 578 1,064 -21.79 -29.17 19 New Jersey 0 2,609 0 549 426 3,584 992 21.04 214.39 38 New Mexico 0 171 0 82 252 505 1,785 -9.82 -48.63 39 New York 0 3,167 0 280 272 3,719 2,180 1.95 134.34 27 North Carolina 114 0 1,839 0 1,497 3,450 1,254 -0.78 27.31 50 North Dakota 0 0 0 0 3 3 105,833 0.00 -57.14 6 Ohio 0 3,367 0 4,861 2,970 11,198 458 3.91 9.96 25 Oklahoma 0 591 0 569 335 1,495 1,113 29.33 7.71 40 Oregon 234 0 39 0 391 664 2,523 -6.48 -72.82 35 Pennsylvania 0 482 0 1,752 1,222 3,456 1,611 -15.09 -1.23 31 Rhode Island 0 0 220 0 126 346 1,339 -12.18 -27.00 5 South Carolina 0 1,947 0 949 1,804 4,700 455 32.13 16.68 44 South Dakota 0 33 0 36 42 111 3,274 68.18 208.33 37 Tennessee 0 0 932 0 714 1,646 1,708 -24.04 -24.04 33 Texas 0 0 3,512 0 3,343 6,855 1,455 -11.03 -32.29 16 Utah 709 0 143 0 254 1,106 886 22.62 -66.33 49 Vermont 7 0 0 0 21 28 11,519 21.74 40.00 32 Virginia 0 0 1,892 0 609 2,501 1,345 33.96 -0.08 11 Washington 0 0 2,779 0 1,037 3,816 756 20.61 45.37 47 West Virginia 0 0 30 0 72 102 8,646 -6.42 72.88 12 Wisconsin 0 1,097 0 1,011 1,323 3,431 765 1.54 -21.70 45 Wyoming 0 0 22 0 34 56 4,676 1.82 86.67 *Actual increase may not be as high due to changes in data collection State Name Nov 2012 Foreclosure Starts† %Δ from Oct 12 %Δ from Nov 11 Nov 2012 Foreclosure Completions (REO) %Δ from Oct 12 %Δ from Nov 11 U.S. 77,494 -13.13 -28.37 59,134 10.58 5.36 Alabama 1,318 14.81 42.64 876 34.77 56.71 Alaska 230 137.11 66.67 68 142.86 83.78 Arizona 2,888 -26.76 -58.77 3,188 13.01 -15.01 Arkansas 294 -1.67 454.72 201 -10.67 87.85 California 10,785 -18.47 -62.68 7,737 -0.97 -6.59 Colorado 1,692 -34.95 -31.25 1,096 -16.78 -16.46 Connecticut 891 -26.12 94.54 447 -8.59 60.22 Delaware 73 -29.13 -77.95 151 12.69 -28.44 District of Columbia 1 -50.00 11 22.22 57.14 Florida 12,466 -1.94 6.73 8,217 12.55 15.18 Georgia 4,149 -24.85 -50.97 4,123 8.84 6.68 Hawaii 91 93.62 -80.72 50 -44.44 -44.44 Idaho 191 -32.51 11.70 153 -3.16 -3.77 Illinois 4,277 -28.07 -22.91 4,199 12.45 37.58 Indiana 841 -20.21 -12.94 1,419 45.99 96.27 Iowa 813 -29.67 697.06 269 -58.74 23.39 Kansas 309 -12.46 10.36 362 14.56 32.12 Kentucky 408 -7.27 66.53 593 43.93 106.62 Louisiana 509 -29.11 -28.41 474 6.04 -7.96 Maine 58 -23.68 -1.69 77 40.00 -81.67 Maryland 1,095 108.97 73.26 409 13.93 52.61 Massachusetts 1,226 -39.00 48.43 375 -17.58 -49.12 Michigan 3,341 -12.97 -35.89 3,955 9.19 11.25 Minnesota 1,292 31.97 -15.56 1,266 13.14 19.66 Mississippi 20 -85.29 -84.25 204 50.00 88.89 Missouri 853 -22.67 -47.41 1,276 31.82 86.82 Montana 3 -92.11 -98.45 49 8.89 -23.44 Nebraska 97 6.59 -14.91 97 64.41 -24.81 Nevada 1,348 -6.45 -9.47 766 -32.51 -64.27 New Hampshire 299 -34.72 -45.44 279 -0.71 4.10 New Jersey 2,609 22.83 537.90 426 10.08 83.62 New Mexico 171 -58.39 -79.10 252 231.58 223.08 New York 3,167 -1.86 209.28 272 25.93 24.77 North Carolina 1,839 -4.07 64.20 1,497 3.96 23.51 North Dakota - 3 0.00 -57.14 Ohio 3,367 -6.42 -15.04 2,970 -2.27 11.03 Oklahoma 591 25.21 -7.22 335 36.18 9.48 Oregon 234 -11.36 -84.35 391 1.30 -58.23 Pennsylvania 482 -69.74 -67.12 1,222 35.93 45.65 Rhode Island 220 -9.84 -23.88 126 -16.00 -31.89 South Carolina 1,947 15.28 -28.52 1,804 88.70 232.23 South Dakota 36 44.00 111.76 42 55.56 740.00 Tennessee 932 -26.32 -25.80 714 -20.84 -21.62 Texas 3,512 -31.85 -43.78 3,343 31.00 -13.77 Utah 709 44.11 10.44 254 -1.93 -47.08 Vermont - -100.00 21 -4.55 5.00 Virginia 1,892 29.77 2.83 609 48.90 -8.14 Washington 2,779 16.72 97.09 1,037 32.44 -14.65 West Virginia 30 -43.40 72 28.57 22.03 Wisconsin 1,097 -13.28 -37.99 1,323 26.12 -0.97 Wyoming 22 -8.33 34 9.68 13.33 †Foreclosure Starts are the first public notice of foreclosure, either NOD, LIS or NTS depending on the state Report License
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