Report: Foreclosures continue to decline

Approximately 1.1 million homes in the U.S. were in some stage of foreclosure in March, down 23 percent from March 2012 when 1.5 million homes were in foreclosure, according to the latest foreclosure report by CoreLogic.

According to CoreLogic, an estimated 55,000 homes completed the foreclosure process in March, down 16 percent from a year ago when 66,000 homes were foreclosed, but up from 52,000 in February. Since foreclosure activity peaked in 2010, completed foreclosures have fallen 52 percent.

“In March, completed foreclosures were down 52 percent from the peak in 2010, and almost all of the top 100 major metropolitan areas have declining foreclosure rates,” said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, in a statement. “The foreclosure rate nationally is down 23 percent relative to a year ago, signaling continued reduction in the stock of distressed assets.”

“For 17 consecutive months, foreclosures have declined year over year across the U.S,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Although we still have more than a million homes in some stage of foreclosure, this trend, combined with rising home prices, is another signal of a gradually improving housing market.”

Highlights of the March report:

• The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in March 2013 were: Florida (103,000), California (83,000), Michigan (70,000), Texas (53,000) and Georgia (48,000). These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.
• The five states with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in March 2013 were: South Dakota (81), District of Columbia (101), Hawaii (421), North Dakota (487) and West Virginia (554).
• The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Florida (9.7 percent), New Jersey (7.3 percent), New York (5.0 percent), Maine (4.4 percent) and Illinois (4.4 percent).
• The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Wyoming (0.5 percent), Alaska (0.7 percent), North Dakota (0.7 percent), Nebraska (0.9 percent) and Montana (0.9 percent).

To download a copy of the National Foreclosure Report, visit CoreLogic’s website.