According to CoreLogic's March National Foreclosure Report, there were 55,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. in March 2013, down from 66,000 in March 2012: a year-over-year decrease of 16%.
On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures rose from 52,000 in February 2013 to the March level of 55,000, representing an increase of 6%.
‘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,’ says Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. ‘The foreclosure rate nationally is down 23 percent relative to a year ago, signaling continued reduction in the stock of distressed assets.’
As a basis of comparison, prior to the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 4.2 million completed foreclosures across the country.
Approximately 1.1 million homes in the U.S. were in some stage of foreclosure as of March 2013 compared to 1.5 million in March 2012: a year-over-year decrease of 23%. Month over month, the foreclosure inventory was down 1.9% from February 2013 to March 2013. The foreclosure inventory as of March 2013 represented 2.8% of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 3.5% in February 2013.
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).
