Don’t be fooled by the headline…this is an ominous report.
The 10% drop is in line with the season pattern that we saw last year. Year-over-year, foreclosure filings were up 15%…a big number. Notably, James Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s CEO, expects a “surge” in the coming months.
RealtyTrac reports U.S. FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY DECREASES 10 PERCENT IN JANUARY
IRVINE, Calif. – Feb. 11, 2010 – RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its January 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 315,716 U.S. properties during the month, a decrease of nearly 10 percent from the previous month but still 15 percent above the level reported in January 2009. The report also shows one in every 409 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in January.
REO activity nationwide was down 5 percent from the previous month but still up 31 percent from January 2009; default notices were down 12 percent from the previous month but still up 4 percent from January 2009; and scheduled foreclosure auctions were down 11 percent from the previous month but still up 15 percent from January 2009.
“January foreclosure numbers are exhibiting a pattern very similar to a year ago: a double-digit percentage jump in December foreclosure activity followed by a 10 percent drop in January,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac “If history repeats itself we will see a surge in the numbers over the next few months as lenders foreclose on delinquent loans where neither the existing loan modification programs or the new short sale and deed-in-lieu of foreclosure alternatives works.”
Nevada, Arizona, California, Florida post top state foreclosure rates
Despite a year-over-year decrease in foreclosure activity of nearly 18 percent, Nevada’s foreclosure rate remained highest among the states for the 37th straight month. One in every 95 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month — more than four times the national average.
A 4 percent month-over-month increase in foreclosure activity boosted Arizona’s foreclosure rate to second highest among the states in January. One in every 129 Arizona housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.
Foreclosure activity decreased by double-digit percentages from the previous month in both California and Florida, and the two states registered nearly identical foreclosure rates — one in every 187 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing. California’s foreclosure rate was statistically higher by a slim margin and ranked third highest among the states while Florida’s foreclosure rate ranked fourth highest.
With one in every 231 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, Utah registered the nation’s fifth highest state foreclosure rate despite a nearly 12 percent month-over-month decrease in foreclosure activity.
Other states with foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest were Idaho, Michigan, Illinois, Oregon and Georgia.
