Foreclosure filings last month were down 10% from December 2009, but were higher than the same period last year. Nevada, Arizona and California were the top three states for foreclosure filings, and experts believe that foreclosure levels could surge over the next several months. See the following article from HousingWire for more on this.
After hitting a record high in 2009, US foreclosure filings in January dropped 10% from the previous month, according to the online market place RealtyTrac.
More than 315,000 homes received a foreclosure filing, which include default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions. Although the numbers improved from December, levels remain 15% above January 2008.
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“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 Saccacio, CEO 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.”
Broken down into categories, default notices dropped 12% from December but stayed 4% above levels in January 2009. Scheduled foreclosure auctions also fell 11% from December and remained 15% above the amount a year ago. Activity in real estate owned (REO) property sales fell 5% from December but grew 31% from January 2009.
Nevada continued to lead all states in terms of foreclosure rate. There, one in every 95 homes received a filing in January, more than four times the national average. Arizona jumped to second with a 4% increase in foreclosure activity. One in every 129 Arizona homes received a filing in January.
California foreclosure filings dropped more than 10%. There, one in every 187 homes received a filing in January, the third highest rate in the country. Florida wasn’t far behind as one in every 187 homes received a filing, a 15% drop from the previous month.
Of the top-10 metro areas hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, Phoenix was the only one to post a monthly increase. One in every 102 homes there received a filing in January, a 4% increase. Las Vegas had the highest metro foreclosure rate with one in every 82 homes receiving a filing for the month, a 2% drop from December and a 21% decrease from January 2009.
This article has been republished from HousingWire. You can also view this article at HousingWire, a mortgage and real estate news site.
