CoreLogic has released its May National Foreclosure Report, which provides data on completed U.S. foreclosures and foreclosure inventory. According to CoreLogic, for the month of May 2014, there were 47,000 completed foreclosures nationally, down from 52,000 in May 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 9.4 percent. On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures were up by 3.8 percent from the 45,000 reported in April 2014. As a basis of comparison, before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006.
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 five million completed foreclosures across the country.
As of May 2014, approximately 660,000 homes in the United States were in some stage of foreclosure, known as the foreclosure inventory, compared to one million in May 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 37 percent. The foreclosure inventory as of May 2014 represented 1.7 percent of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 2.6 percent in May 2013. The foreclosure inventory was down 4.8 percent from April 2014, representing 31 months of consecutive year-over-year declines.
“Significant gains have been made in the last year to reduce the foreclosure stock,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Yet, these improvements are occurring disproportionately in non-judicial states. The foreclosure inventory in judicial states is averaging 2.1 percent, which is more than twice the 0.9 percent average that is occurring in non-judicial states.”
“The pace of completed foreclosures slowed in May compared to last month but I expect this to be a temporary respite,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “There is still much more hard work to do to clear the backlog of foreclosed properties. Although difficult, we need to continue to aggressively clear distressed homes to ensure the return of a healthy housing market.”
Highlights as of May 2014:
►Every state posted double-digit year-over-year declines in completed foreclosures.
►Thirty-eight states show declines in year-over-year foreclosure inventory of greater than 30 percent with Arizona, Utah, Nebraska and Minnesota experiencing declines greater than 50 percent.
►The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in May 2014 were: Florida (122,000), Michigan (44,000), Texas (39,000), California (34,000) and Georgia (32,000).These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.
►The five states (including the District of Columbia) with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in May 2014 were: the District of Columbia (71), North Dakota (334), West Virginia (515), Wyoming (710) and Alaska (856).
►The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: New Jersey (5.8 percent), Florida (5.2 percent), New York (4.3 percent), Hawaii (3.1 percent) and Maine (2.8 percent).
►The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Alaska (0.3 percent), Nebraska (0.4 percent), North Dakota (0.4 percent), Wyoming (0.4 percent) and Minnesota (0.5 percent).
