Realtytrac report: Foreclosure activity decreases 12 percent in SeptemberMortgagePress.comRealtyTrac, foreclosures, statistics, Foreclosure Market Report
RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties,
today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for September
2008 and Q3 2008. Foreclosure filings default notices, auction sale
notices and bank repossessions were reported on 265,968 properties
in September, a 12 percent decrease from the previous month but
still a 21 percent increase from September 2007. One in every 475
U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in September.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 765,558 U.S. properties
during the third quarter, up more than 3 percent from the second
quarter and up 71 percent from the third quarter of 2007.
RealtyTrac publishes the largest and most comprehensive national
database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1.5
million properties from over 2,200 counties across the country, and
is the foreclosure data provider to MSN Real Estate, Yahoo! Real
Estate and The Wall Street Journal's Real Estate
Journal.
"Much of the 12 percent decrease in September can be attributed
to changes in state laws that have at least temporarily slowed down
the pace at which lenders are moving forward with foreclosures,"
said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
"Most significantly, SB 1137 in California took effect in early
September and requires lenders to make contact with borrowers at
least 30 days before filing a Notice of Default (NOD). In September
we saw California NODs drop 51 percent from the previous month, and
that drop had a significant impact on the national numbers given
that California accounts for close to one-third of the nation's
foreclosure activity each month. Another example is North Carolina,
where legislation was signed into law in August that requires
lenders to provide homeowners and the states commissioner of banks
a 45-day notice prior to filing a Notice of Default. We saw NODs
drop 66 percent in North Carolina in September.
"On the other hand, initial foreclosure filings in Massachusetts
jumped 465 percent from August to September after being much lower
than normal in June, July and August. That temporary lull happened
after a new law took effect in May requiring lenders to give
homeowners a 90-day right to cure notice before initiating
foreclosure. But in September, about 90 days after the law took
effect, initial foreclosure notices jumped back up close to the
level we were seeing earlier in the year."
Nevada, Florida, California post top state foreclosure
rates in September
Nevada continued to document the nation's highest state
foreclosure rate in September thanks to an 11 percent increase in
foreclosure activity from the previous month. Foreclosure filings
were reported on 13,022 Nevada properties during the month, an
increase of 137 percent from September 2007 and one in every 82
housing units more than five times the national average.
A nine percent month-over-month increase in foreclosure activity
helped Florida's foreclosure rate leapfrog past foreclosure rates
in Arizona and California to take the No. 2 spot, with one in every
178 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in September.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 47,956 Florida properties
during the month, an increase of 44 percent from September of
2007.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 69,548 California
properties in September, a 32 percent decrease from the previous
month but still up 36 percent from September 2007. With one in
every 189 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during
September, the state's foreclosure rate slipped to third highest
among the states.
Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in
September were Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey,
Indiana and Colorado.
Top six states account for 60 percent of third quarter
foreclosure activity
Six states accounted for more than 60 percent of U.S. foreclosure
activity in the third quarter. California alone accounted for more
than 27 percent of the nations foreclosure activity, with 210,845
properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter up 4
percent from the previous quarter and up more than 122 percent from
the third quarter of 2008.
Foreclosure filings were reported on 127,306 Florida properties
during the third quarter, the second highest state total. The
states foreclosure activity increased 16 percent from the previous
quarter and nearly 109 percent from the third quarter of 2007.
Arizona documented the third highest state total in the third
quarter, with 40,419 properties receiving a foreclosure filinga 9
percent increase from the previous quarter and a 189 percent
increase from the third quarter of 2007.
Ohio, Michigan and Nevada all reported foreclosure filings on
more than 30,000 properties during the third quarter, although
foreclosure activity in Ohio was down 11 percent from the previous
quarter and foreclosure activity in Michigan was down 8 percent
from the previous quarter. Nevadas foreclosure activity increased
more than 22 percent from the previous quarter and was up more than
132 percent from the third quarter of 2007.
Sun Belt cities dominate top metro foreclosure rates in
third quarter
The cities with the 10 highest foreclosure rates among the
nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas in the third quarter were
all located in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada.
California alone accounted for six of the top 10, and Stockton,
Calif., took the top spot, with 3.69 percent of its housing units
receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. Stockton's
foreclosure activity was down 9 percent from the previous quarter
but still up 87 percent from the third quarter of 2007. Other
California cities in the top 10 for foreclosure rate were
Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 3, Bakersfield at No. 4, Sacramento
at No. 7, Fresno at No. 9 and Oakland at No. 10.
With 3.48 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure
filing during the third quarter, Las Vegas documented the second
highest metro foreclosure rate. Foreclosure filings were reported
on 26,304 Las Vegas properties in the third quarter, up 21 percent
from the previous quarter and up 129 percent from the third quarter
of 2007.
Two Florida metro areas were in the top 10: Fort Lauderdale at
No. 5, with 2.30 percent of its housing units receiving a
foreclosure filing during the quarter; and Orlando at No. 8, with
1.87 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure filing
during the quarter.
Phoenix documented the sixth highest metro foreclosure rate,
with 2.11 percent of its housing units receiving a foreclosure
filing during the third quarter.
Report methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of
the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing
reported during the month or quarter broken out by type of filing
at the state and national level. Data is also available at the
individual county level. 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
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). If more than one foreclosure document is
filed against a property during the month or quarter, only the most
recent filing is counted in the report. The report also checks if
the same type of document was filed against a property in a
previous month or quarter. If so, and if that previous filing
occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state
the property is in, the report does not count the property in the
current month.
For more information, visit www.realtytrac.com.
