Nearly four million foreclosures completed since housing crash

Completed foreclosures during the housing crash

According to information provider, CoreLogic’s National Foreclosure Report for October, there have been approximately 3.9 million completed foreclosures in the U.S. since the economic crash squarely began in September 2008. Prior to the decline of housing, completed foreclosures (homes actually lost to foreclosures) averaged 21,000 per month between 2000 and 2006.

According to CoreLogic, there were 58,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. in October 2012, down from 70,000 in October 2011 representing a year-over-year decrease of 17 percent. On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures fell from 77,000 in September 2012 to the current 58,000, representing a decrease of 25 percent. In this month’s report, CoreLogic revised September’s foreclosure levels from 57,000 completed foreclosures to 77,000.

A long road ahead for housing

While there is improvement in foreclosure inventory levels, comparing the data to pre-recession numbers reveals that while housing is improving, it has a long way to go before recovering, or even getting back to “normal.”

In October 2012, approximately 1.3 million homes, or 3.2 percent of all homes with a mortgage, were in the national foreclosure inventory, compared to 1.5 million, or 3.6 percent, in October 2011.

“A lower foreclosure inventory is a good indicator of improving housing markets,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “The downward trend in foreclosure inventories over the past year is yet another signal that a recovery in housing is gaining traction.”

Regional performance varied

The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in October 2012 were California (105,000), Florida (95,000), Michigan (68,000), Texas (59,000), and Georgia (54,000). These five states account for 49.0 percent of all completed foreclosures nationally.

The five states with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in October 2012 were South Dakota (19), District of Columbia (64), Hawaii (452), North Dakota (511), and Maine (643).

The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were Florida (11.1 percent), New Jersey (7.7 percent), New York (5.3 percent), Illinois (5.0 percent), and Nevada (4.8 percent).

The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were Wyoming (0.5 percent), Alaska (0.7 percent), North Dakota (0.7 percent), Nebraska (0.8 percent), and South Dakota (1.0 percent).