Foreclosure starts were down 3.7% in December and nearly 40% below their December 2010 levels, according to new data from Jacksonville, Fla.-based Lender Processing Services (LPS).
LPS has determined the total U.S. loan delinquency rate in the U.S. last month was 8.15% – virtually unchanged from the previous month – while the total foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate was 4.11%, down 1.3% from November.
LPS found that foreclosure starts were down nearly 40% in 2011, mostly due to moratoria, process reviews and loss mitigation efforts, while delinquencies were down 25% from their January 2010 peak. New originations were down almost 30% year-over-year.
Furthermore, half of loans in foreclosure in judicial states have not made a payment in two years, as opposed to 28% in nonjudicial states. Foreclosure sale rates in nonjudicial states are approximately four times that of judicial foreclosure states.
Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois were the states with the highest percentage of noncurrent loans last month, while Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Alaska and North Dakota were the states with the lowest percentage of noncurrent loans.
