There were about 55,000 completed foreclosures in September – an increase of 49.5% compared with 37,000 in August but a decrease of 17.6% compared with 67,000 in September 2014, according to CoreLogic.
The major month-over-month increase was an anomaly, however, as it was the result of the public auctioning of thousands of tax-foreclosed properties in Wayne County, Mich., of which Detroit is the county seat.
CoreLogic points out that completed foreclosures in September were down 52.8% compared with the peak of 117,438 in September 2010.
States with the highest number of completed foreclosures in September, compared with September 2014, included Florida (91,000), Michigan (45,000), Texas (32,000), Georgia (26,000) and California (26,000). These five states accounted for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.
States with the lowest number of completed foreclosures included District of Columbia (69), North Dakota (310), Wyoming (498), West Virginia (593) and Hawaii (690).
Meanwhile, the foreclosure inventory decreased by 24.3%, compared with September 2014.
As of September, there were about 470,000 homes, or about 1.2% of all homes with a mortgage, in the national foreclosure inventory, compared with 621,000 homes, or 1.6%, in September 2014.
States with the highest foreclosure inventory rate in September included New Jersey (4.6%), New York (3.7%), Florida (2.6%), Hawaii (2.5%) and the District of Columbia (2.4%).
States with the lowest foreclosure inventory included Alaska (0.3%), Minnesota (0.4%), Nebraska (0.4%), Arizona (0.4%) and North Dakota (0.4%).
About 1.3 million properties, or 3.4% of all homes with a mortgage, were seriously delinquent (defined as 90 days or more past due, including those loans in foreclosure or REO) in September, a decrease of 21.2% compared with September 2014. It was the lowest serious delinquency rate since December 2007.
The foreclosure rate (defined as the share of all loans in the foreclosure process) was at 1.2% as of September – which is about the same level seen in December 2007.
‘The largest improvements in the foreclosure inventory continue to be in judicial states on the East Coast such as Florida and New Jersey,’ says Sam Khater, deputy chief economist for CoreLogic, in a statement. ‘While the overwhelming majority of states are experiencing declines in their foreclosure rates, four states experienced small increases compared with a year ago.’
‘The rate of delinquencies continues to drop back closer to historic norms powered by improved economic conditions and tighter post-recession underwriting standards,’ adds Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. ‘As we head into 2016, based on almost every major metric, the fundamentals underpinning the housing market are healthier than any time since 2007.’