There were 49,000 completed foreclosures nationally in June, down from 54,000 in June 2013, a decrease of 9.9%, according to CoreLogic's latest National Foreclosure Report.
Foreclosures were up by 2.7% in June from the 48,000 reported in May. For comparison, before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006. Completed foreclosures indicate the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure. Since September 2008, there have been approximately 5.1 million completed foreclosures in the U.S.
Approximately 648,000 homes were in some stage of foreclosure as of June, compared with 1 million in June 2013, a drop of 35%. The foreclosure inventory in June made up 1.7% of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 2.5% in June 2013. The foreclosure inventory was down 3.9% from May, representing 32 months of consecutive year-over-year declines.
"While 32 straight months of year-over-year decline in the foreclosure rate is cause for celebration, the total number of homes still in the foreclosure process remains almost four times as high as the average in the early 2000s," said Mark Fleming, chief economist at CoreLogic. "Additionally, there is concern over whether or not we can maintain this pace of improvement as the foreclosure inventory becomes more concentrated in judicial states with lengthier, more complex processes and timelines."
Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO at CoreLogic, added, "Most of the U.S. has reduced its shadow inventory to pre-recession levels, but the Northeast, Florida and the Pacific Northwest remain elevated. The great news here is that the basic underpinnings of the housing market are strengthening, but there is still work to do."
Highlights as of June:
June represents 17 consecutive months of at least a 20% year-over-year decline in the national inventory of foreclosed homes.
All but one state posted double-digit declines in foreclosures year over year. The state of Wyoming saw a 5.1% increase in foreclosures year over year.
Thirty-six states show declines in year-over-year foreclosure inventory of greater than 30%, with Arizona and Utah experiencing declines greater than 50%.
The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in June 2014 were: Florida (123,000), Michigan (43,000), Texas (33,000), California (34,000) and Georgia (31,000).These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.
The five states (including the District of Columbia) with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in June 2014 were: the District of Columbia (83), North Dakota (324), West Virginia (543), Wyoming (718) and Hawaii (836).
The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: New Jersey (5.7%), Florida (5.0%), New York (4.3%), Hawaii (3.1%) and Maine (2.7%).
The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Alaska (0.4%), Nebraska (0.4%), North Dakota (0.5%), Minnesota (0.5%) and Wyoming (0.5%).
