Foreclosure inventory dipped 28.9 percent in June and completed foreclosures fell 14.8 percent in June, according to CoreLogic’s June 2015 National Foreclosure Report. Further, the number of foreclosures in America decreased from 50,000 in June 2014 to 43,000 in June 2015, representing a decrease of 63.3 percent from the peak of 117,119 completed foreclosures in September 2010.
Since the housing crash began in September 2008, there have been roughly 5.8 million completed foreclosures. Since homeownership rates peaked in 2004, nearly 7.8 million homes have been lost to foreclosure. These numbers are finally improving.
Foreclosures down to 1.2% of all homes
CoreLogic reports that as of June, the foreclosure inventory is down to 1.2 percent of all mortgaged homes (representing 472,000 homes) versus the 664,000 homes in foreclosure in June of last year. This report marks the lowest foreclosure rate since December 2007, making it clear that the housing recovery is coming along in a healthy way.
Another major milestone is serious delinquencies (90+ days past due) dropped 23.3 percent in one year, marking the lowest delinquency rate since January 2008.
“The foreclosure rate for the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level since 2007, supported by a continuing decline in loans made before 2009, gains in employment, and higher housing prices,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “The decline has not been uniform geographically, as the foreclosure rate varies across metropolitan areas. In the Denver and San Francisco areas, the foreclosure rate has fallen to 0.3 percent, whereas in the Tampa market the rate is 3.5 percent and in Nassau and Suffolk counties it is an elevated 4.8 percent.”
“Serious delinquency is at the lowest level in seven and a half years reflecting the benefits of slow but steady improvements in the economy and rising home prices,” said Anand Nallathambi, President and CEO of CoreLogic. “We are also seeing the positive impact of more stringent underwriting criteria for loans originated since 2009 which has helped to lower the national seriously delinquent rate.”
Regional performance varied
The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in June 2015 were: Florida (102,000), Michigan (46,000), Texas (33,000), California (29,000) and Ohio (27,000). These five states accounted for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.
Four states and the District of Columbia had the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in June 2015: South Dakota (32), the District of Columbia (107), North Dakota (313), Wyoming (499) and West Virginia (566).
Four states and the District of Columbia had the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes: New Jersey (4.7 percent), New York (3.7 percent), Florida (2.7 percent), Hawaii (2.5 percent) and the District of Columbia (2.4 percent).
The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Alaska (0.3 percent), Minnesota (0.4 percent), Montana (0.4 percent) Nebraska (0.4 percent) and North Dakota (0.4 percent).
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