Fewer Foreclosure Filings in November

Foreclosure filings were reported on 104,111 properties last month, according to new data from RealtyTrac. This represents a 10 percent decline from October and a seven percent drop from November 2014.

November also witnessed a 15 percent monthly drop in foreclosure starts, with 41,208 properties starting the foreclosure process for the first time—the lowest monthly total since May 2005. However, property repossession by lenders in November was up 10 percent from October and up 60 percent year-over-year. Repossessions were up in 41 states, most notably in Tennessee (up 608 percent), Mississippi (up 341 percent), Texas (298 percent), Nebraska (up 295 percent), New York (up 270 percent) and New Jersey (up 205 percent).

“Banks are continuing to work through the backlog of lingering foreclosures, pushing bank repossession numbers higher in the short term even as foreclosure starts drop to new lows,” said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac vice president. “This also means the share of active foreclosures tied to bubble-era loans is shrinking, with 59 percent of all loans in foreclosure originated between 2004 and 2008. While that is still a disproportionate share of active foreclosures, it continues to decrease from 61 percent earlier this year and 75 percent two years ago.”

For the second month in a row, Maryland led the nation in foreclosures, with a total of 4,631 properties with a foreclosure filing in November—down nearly 10 percent from the previous month, but up 13 percent from a year ago. Atlantic City had the highest number of foreclosure filings for a major metro area for the fifth consecutive month with one out of every 307 housing unit being impacted.