Property recovery in the US sees number of foreclosure drop dramatically

As the residential property market recovery in the United States continues, new data shows that the rate of foreclosures is also getting better, down 19% year on year. The figures from CoreLogic, a leading residential property information, analytics and services provider, are good news as it means the price and sales recovery is proving to be sustainable.

According to CoreLogic, there were 54,000 completed foreclosures in the US in February 2013, down from 67,000 in February 2012, a year on year decrease of 19%. On a monthly basis the number of completed foreclosures fell from 58,000 in January to 54,000 in February, a fall of 7%. 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.

Around 1.2 million homes were in some stage of foreclosure in the US, known as the foreclosure inventory, as of February 2013 compared to 1.5 million in February 2012, a decrease of 21%. The foreclosure inventory as of February 2013 represented 2.8% of all homes with a mortgage compared to 3.5% in February 2012. This was the 16th consecutive month with a year on year decline. Month over month, the foreclosure inventory was down 1.8% from January 2013 to February 2013.

‘It is the lowest level nationally since September 2007, with most major metropolitan areas experiencing improvements. Even the major Florida markets are benefiting with the foreclosure inventories falling the fastest in major metropolitan areas, although from a very high level,’ said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

The drop in delinquencies and foreclosure starts will help support a resurgence in the home purchase market this year and next, according to Anand Nallathambi, president and chief executive officer of CoreLogic. The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in February 2013 were Florida with 95,000,California with 90,000, Michigan with 73,000, Texas with 57,000 and Georgia with 49,000. These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.

Quote from PropertyCommunity.com : “Existing home sales in the United States edged up in January, while a seller’s market is developing and home prices continue to rise steadily above year ago levels, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors.”

The five states with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in February 2013 were the District of Columbia with 96, Hawaii with 469, North Dakota with 482, Maine with 542 and West Virginia with 588.

The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were Florida at 9.9%, New Jersey at 7.2%, New York at 5%, Nevada at 4.6% and Illinois at 4.5%. The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were Wyoming at 0.5%, Alaska at 0.6%, North Dakota with 0.7%, Nebraska at 0.8% and Montana where the figure is 0.9%.