Thursday, November 12, 2009


By Paul Wiseman, USA TODAY

Foreclosures fell for the third-consecutive month in October, another sign the worst of the housing crisis may be past.
RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif., real estate firm, reports Thursday that foreclosure filings totaled 332,292 last month, down 3% from September but up 19% from a year earlier. The figure means that one of every 385 homes received a foreclosure notice in October.


CHART:Foreclosures across the USA

"It looks like it's leveling out," says Bernard Baumohl, chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group in Princeton, N.J. "We're not seeing further deterioration in the housing market."

RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio said that the third-straight monthly drop was unprecedented and perhaps a sign "that the foreclosure tide may be turning" but warned that "the fundamental forces driving foreclosure activity in this housing downturn – high-risk mortgages, negative equity and unemployment – continue to loom over any nascent recovery."

Four states – California, Florida, Illinois and Michigan – accounted for 52% of last month's foreclosures.

Seven of the 10 U.S. metropolitan areas with the worst foreclosure rates were in California: Vallejo-Fairfield; Modesto; San Bernardino ; Bakersfield ; Merced; Stockton; and Sacramento.

Nevada continued to have the nation's worst foreclosure rate: One in 80 Nevada homes got foreclosure notices in October. In Las Vegas, the figure was even worse: one in 68.

But foreclosures were down 4% in Nevada from a year earlier – the first year-over-year drop in the state since RealtyTrac started monitoring the figure in January 2006. RealtyTrac said a state foreclosure mediation program "may be slowing the inflow of distressed properties into the foreclosure pipeline."

Foreclosures shot up 56% in Illinois last month from September.


RECOVERY WATCH:Tracking the economy; see VIDEO

"Despite all the efforts and resources directed at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure, we continue to see foreclosure activity levels that are substantially higher than a year ago in most states," Saccacio said.

Baumohl says vulnerable homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages are benefiting from low interest rates that keep a lid on monthly payments. But he's worried that rates will rise – and hurt homeowners struggling to make their payments – as the economy improves and businesses start competing for credit with a deficit-ridden federal government.

FORECLOSURES ACROSS THE USA | Story
Rate rank State Filings 1 for every X housing units (rate) Change from Sept '09 Change from Oct '08

31 Alabama 2,447 873 1% 193%

33 Alaska 304 928 35% 18%

4 Arizona 13,345 200 -11% -24%

24 Arkansas 1,892 680 12% 0%

2 California 85,420 156 -1% 50%

11 Colorado 5,047 421 -19% -6%

20 Connecticut 2,306 624 8% -26%

32 Delaware 439 885 106% 112%

District of Columbia 258 1,102 -39% 14%

3 Florida 51,911 168 -6% -4%

8 Georgia 12,468 318 -17% 26%

17 Hawaii 925 548 -5% 134%

5 Idaho 2,471 255 -2% 111%

6 Illinois 19,946 263 56% 57%

21 Indiana 4,386 633 -2% -19%

43 Iowa 423 3,143 -45% -15%

37 Kansas 929 1,313 -27% 42%

39 Kentucky 1,164 1,638 -10% 120%

38 Louisiana 1,274 1,459 -23% 98%

41 Maine 363 1,919 -11% 4%

9 Maryland 6,661 348 -1% 124%

15 Massachusetts 5,411 503 17% 49%

7 Michigan 16,468 275 -2% 45%

27 Minnesota 2,983 773 -15% 12%

42 Mississippi 539 2,328 -62% 174%

30 Missouri 3,218 823 2% -12%

46 Montana 106 4,109 -3% 165%

48 Nebraska 123 6,348 -65% 146%

1 Nevada 13,842 80 -26% -4%

22 New Hampshire 897 662 15% 30%

13 New Jersey 7,435 471 39% -12%

25 New Mexico 1,244 693 56% 371%

40 New York 4,797 1,655 -16% 28%

36 North Carolina 3,447 1,197 -8% 7%

47 North Dakota 59 5,264 74% 40%

12 Ohio 11,646 435 7% -4%

35 Oklahoma 1,552 1,046 -48% 90%

16 Oregon 3,160 509 -9% 11%

34 Pennsylvania 5,545 988 1% 38%

14 Rhode Island 903 499 -8% 55%

26 South Carolina 2,889 700 -11% 42%

44 South Dakota 105 3,402 -17% 209%

23 Tennessee 4,030 676 14% 0%

28 Texas 11,798 800 -11% 19%

10 Utah 2,403 385 -35% 33%

50 Vermont 15 20,762 -53% 15%

19 Virginia 5,484 597 -5% -16%

29 Washington 3,337 822 9% -22%

49 West Virginia 100 8,827 -69% 12%

18 Wisconsin 4,311 594 4% 128%

45 Wyoming 66 3,672 -33% -35%

-- U.S. 332,292 385 -3% 19%
Source: RealtyTrac

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



 

blogger templates | Make Money Online