National foreclosures decrease 4.3 percent in AugustMortgagePress.comRealtyTrac U.S. foreclosure market report
RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties,
has released its August 2005 monthly U.S. foreclosure market
report, which showed that new foreclosures nationwide dropped 4.3
percent in August after two consecutive months of increases. Still,
August's new foreclosure numbers were higher than any other month,
except for July. A total of 75,599 properties entered some stage of
foreclosure or were foreclosed on--one for every 1,530
households.
"After consecutive months of increasing foreclosures, the rates
across the country seem to have stabilized in August," said James
J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac CEO. "But it appears that the overall
decrease in national foreclosures may be somewhat inflated due to
the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina."
The three states most directly affected by Hurricane Katrina,
which made landfall on Aug. 29, all documented significantly fewer
foreclosures in August than in July. Louisiana reported a total of
174 new foreclosures, a 62 percent decrease. New foreclosures in
Mississippi and Alabama plummeted more than 80 percent, much higher
than the national average. When the foreclosure numbers from the
three states are excluded from the July and August reports,
nationwide foreclosures show a smaller decrease of 2.8 percent.
"While no one's really certain at this point what the long-term
impact of Katrina will be on the foreclosure market, in the
short-term, the fundamental processes of filing and recording
foreclosures have been completely disrupted," Saccacio added.
Texas and Florida continued to dominate the foreclosures market,
accounting for more than 30 percent of the nation's total
foreclosures. With 13,453 properties entering some stage of
foreclosure, Texas replaced Florida as the state with the most
foreclosures reported. Florida foreclosures dropped 18 percent, but
the state still reported the second highest number of
foreclosures--10,175.
The high foreclosure numbers in Texas and Florida helped
position the two states' foreclosure rates among the five highest
nationwide. Texas recorded one foreclosure for every 599
households, 2.6 times the national average. With one foreclosure
for every 718 households, Florida's foreclosure rate was more than
two times the national average.
California's foreclosure rate stayed well below the national
average, despite a 21 percent jump in foreclosures. The state
documented 4,810 properties entering some stage of foreclosure--the
third most of any state--with one foreclosure for every 2,539
households.
Illinois and Ohio were among the five states with the highest
foreclosure numbers for the second month in a row. Ohio documented
4,570 foreclosures in August--just 22 fewer than in July--and one
foreclosure for every 1,047 households. With 4,251 properties
entering some stage of foreclosure or being foreclosed on, Illinois
documented one foreclosure for every 1,150 households.
Arizona and Hawaii both registered foreclosure rates among the
five highest nationwide thanks to rising foreclosure numbers.
Arizona foreclosures jumped 45 percent, and the state reported one
foreclosure for every 752 households--more than two times the
national average. With 1,773 properties entering foreclosure or
foreclosed on, Hawaii's foreclosure rate soared to 5.9 times the
national average. The state recorded one foreclosure for every 260
households.
For more information, visit www.realtytrac.com.
