July Foreclosures Up From June, But Down From 2009

Although nationwide foreclosure activity from June to July, the trend of lower year-over-year activity continues.

RealtyTrac reports Foreclosure Activity Increases 4 Percent in July

RealtyTrac® , the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for July 2010, which shows that foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 325,229 properties in July, a nearly 4 percent increase from the previous month but a nearly 10 percent decrease from July 2009. One in every 397 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.

“July marked the 17th consecutive month with a foreclosure activity total exceeding 300,000,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Declines in new default notices, which were down on a year-over-year basis for the sixth straight month in July, have been offset by near-record levels of bank repossessions, which increased on a year-over-year basis for the eighth straight month.”

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All 10 metro areas with the nation’s highest foreclosure rates in July posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity, but five of the top 10 posted increases from the previous month. The two biggest monthly increases were in No. 2 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., where foreclosure activity was up 21 percent from the previous month, and in No. 9 Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., where foreclosure activity was up 19 percent from the previous month.Foreclosure activity increased nearly 9 percent from the previous month in the Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., metro area, which registered the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more. One in every 71 Las Vegas housing units received a foreclosure filing in July, more than five times the national average.

Other metro foreclosure rates in the top 10 were Modesto, Calif., at No. 3 (one in every 102 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing); Merced, Calif., at No. 4 (one in every 111); Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., at No. 5 (one in 112); Stockton, Calif., at No. 6 (one in 115); Bakersfield, Calif., at No. 7 (one in 118); Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla., at No. 8 (one in 129); and Vallejo-Fairfield, Calif., at No. 10 (one in 136).

Daniel Indiviglio at The Atlantic adds:

As you can see, monthly foreclosure activity has been above 300,000 for 17 straight months. Even though July had more filings than June, the year-over-year decline stayed on track:

This trend couldn’t be much clearer. Although the downward decline in year-over-year foreclosure activity hasn’t bee a quick one, it has been consistent.