Home Foreclosure Activity Increases 4 Percent In August: RealtyTrac

IRVINE, Calif. — RealtyTrac® (www.realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for August 2010, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 338,836 properties in August, a 4 percent increase from the previous month but a 5 percent decrease from August 2009. One in every 381 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.

“The trend lines of decreasing default notices and increasing bank repossessions converged in August, with virtually the same number of new default notices and bank repossessions for the month — a clear indication that the clogged foreclosure pipeline is being carefully managed on both ends by lenders and servicers,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “On the front end, seriously delinquent loans are rolling into foreclosure at an unusually slow rate, while on the back end the dammed-up inventory of properties already in foreclosure is moving to REO in steady stream rather than a flood — presumably to prevent further erosion of home prices.”

Foreclosure Activity by Type

A total of 96,469 U.S. properties received default notices (NOD, LIS) in August, a 1 percent decrease from the previous month and a 30 percent decrease from August 2009 — the seventh straight month where default notices have decreased on a year-over-year basis. Default notices peaked in April 2009, when 142,064 were reported nationwide.

Default notices increased on a monthly basis in some states, counter to the national trend. Default notices in California increased on a month-over-month basis for the third month in a row, and New York, Indiana, Ohio and Florida also registered month-over-month increases in default notices.

Foreclosure auctions (NTS, NFS) were scheduled for the first time on a total of 147,003 U.S. properties in August, a 9 percent increase from the previous month and a 2 percent increase from August 2009. The August total for scheduled auctions was the second highest monthly total in the history of the report, which goes back to April 2005, and was 7 percent below the peak of 158,105 in March 2010.

Lenders foreclosed on 95,364 U.S. properties in August, the highest monthly total in the history of the report and about 2 percent higher than the previous peak of 93,777 bank repossessions (REOs) in May 2010. August REO activity increased 3 percent from the previous month and was up 25 percent from August 2009 — the ninth straight month where REOs have increased on a year-over-year basis.

Nevada, Florida, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates in August

Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the 44th straight month, with one in every 84 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in August — 4.5 times the national average. Nevada maintained the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate despite a 25 percent year-over-year decrease in foreclosure activity in August — the 11th straight month where Nevada foreclosure activity has decreased on a year-over-year basis.

Florida foreclosure activity decreased on a year-over-year basis for the fifth straight month in August, but the state’s foreclosure rate still ranked second highest among all states. One in every 155 Florida housing units received a foreclosure filing in August — 2.5 times the national average.

One in every 165 Arizona housing units received a foreclosure filing in August, the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, and one in every 194 California housing units received a foreclosure filing in August, the nation’s fourth highest state foreclosure rate.

One in every 220 Idaho housing units received a foreclosure filing in August, the nation’s fifth highest state foreclosure rate. A total of 2,915 Idaho properties received a foreclosure filing in August, an increase of nearly 9 percent from the previous month and an increase of 11 percent from August 2009. Idaho was the only state with a top 5 foreclosure rate to document a year-over-year increase in foreclosure activity.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in August were Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois and Hawaii.

Five states account for more than 50 percent of national total

California alone accounted for 20 percent of the national total in August, with 69,143 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the month — a 3 percent increase from the previous month but a 25 percent decrease from August 2009.

Florida accounted for nearly 17 percent of the national total, with 56,877 properties receiving a foreclosure filing — a 10 percent increase from the previous month but a 9 percent decrease from August 2009. Florida default notices were down 46 percent from August 2009 but increased 2 percent from the previous month, ending five straight months of month-over-month decreases in Florida default notices.

Michigan, Illinois and Arizona each accounted for about 5 percent of the national total in August, with 17,764 Michigan properties receiving foreclosure filings, 16,808 Illinois properties receiving foreclosure filings, and 16,510 Arizona properties receiving foreclosure filings.

Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation’s 10 highest in August were Georgia (16,366), Texas (14,290), Ohio (13,479), Nevada (13,385), and Washington (6,760).

Metro foreclosure hot spots continue downward trend

All 10 metro areas with the nation’s highest foreclosure rates in August posted year-over-year decreases in foreclosure activity for the second month in a row.

The Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., metro area documented the highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, with one in every 73 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, despite a 25 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from August 2009.

Foreclosure activity in Modesto, Calif., decreased 10 percent from August 2009, but the city still documented the nation’s second highest metro foreclosure rate, with one in every 95 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in August. Six other California metro areas had foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10: Stockton at No. 3 (one in every 100 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing); Merced at No. 6 (one in 111); Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario at No. 7 (one in 113); Bakersfield at No. 8 (one in 120); Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 9 (one in 124); and Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville at No. 10 (one in 125).

Two Florida metro areas registered foreclosure rates among the top 10: Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., at No. 3, with one in every 104 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing; and Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach at No. 5, with one in every 111 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Report methodology

The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month — broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during the month may have been recorded in previous months. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). The report does not count a property again if it receives the same type of foreclosure filing multiple times within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located.

About RealtyTrac Inc.
RealtyTrac (www.realtytrac.com) is the leading online marketplace of foreclosure properties, with more than 1.5 million default, auction and bank-owned listings from over 2,200 U.S. counties, along with detailed property, loan and home sales data. Hosting more than 3 million unique monthly visitors, RealtyTrac provides innovative technology solutions and practical education resources to facilitate buying, selling and investing in real estate. RealtyTrac’s foreclosure data has also been used by the Federal Reserve, FBI, U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee and Banking Committee, U.S. Treasury Department, and numerous state housing and banking departments to help evaluate foreclosure trends and address policy issues related to foreclosures.