Fewer U.S. homes entered the foreclosure process in November, reflecting a seasonal slowdown in overall activity by lenders and mortgage servicers.
Foreclosure filings - including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on 224,394 U.S. properties in November, a 3% decrease from the previous month and a 14% decrease from November 2010, RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, reported Thursday.
The report shows one in every 579 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month,
"Despite a seasonal slowdown similar to what we’ve seen in each of the past four years, November’s numbers suggest a new set of incoming foreclosure waves, many of which may roll into the market as REOs or short sales sometime early next year,” said James Saccacio, co-founder of RealtyTrac. “Overall foreclosure activity is down 14 percent from a year ago, the smallest annual decrease over the past 12 months, and some bellwether states such as California, Arizona and Massachusetts actually posted year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity in November.
Foreclosures By Type
Default notices were filed for the first time on 71,730 U.S. properties in November, an 8% decrease from the previous month and down 9% from November 2010.
Foreclosure auctions were scheduled on 96,540 U.S. properties in November, up 13% from October, but still down 17% from November 2010. Scheduled foreclosure auctions increased more than 35% on a monthly basis in several states, including California (up 63%), Washington (up 56%), Ohio (up 53%), New Jersey (up 44%), and New York (up 38%).
Lenders repossessed (REO) a total of 56,124 U.S. properties in November, a 17% decrease from October and also a 17% decrease from November 2011. REO activity in November was at its lowest level since March 2008, a 44-month low.
Nevada posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate for the 59th straight month in November despite artificially low foreclosure activity caused by a new state law passed in October that alters the foreclosure process in the state. A total of 6,512 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing in November, up 3% from a 45-month low in October, but still down 43% from November 2010. One in every 175 Nevada housing units had a foreclosure filing in November, more than three times the national average.
Arizona foreclosure activity increased on a year-over-year basis in November for the first time since October 2010, and the state posted the nation’s third highest foreclosure rate for the fifth month in a row. One in every 256 Arizona properties had a foreclosure filing in November, more than twice the national average.
Substantial monthly increases in foreclosure activity in Utah and Georgia lifted those states’ foreclosure rates into the nation’s top five in November. Utah’s foreclosure rate of one in every 290 housing units with a foreclosure filing ranked No. 4 thanks to a 74% monthly increase, and Georgia’s foreclosure rate of one in every 330 housing units with a foreclosure filing ranked No. 5 thanks to a 23% monthly increase.
Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 were Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Ohio and South Carolina. South Carolina cracked the top 10 for the first time since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in 2005.
Nine out of the nation’s 10 highest foreclosure rates among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more were in California. The only exception was Las Vegas, which ranked No. 6 with one in every 150 housing units with a foreclosure filing in November.
With one in every 120 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month, Stockton, Calif., posted the nation’s highest metro foreclosure rate for the second month in a row. There were a total of 1,913 Stockton properties with a foreclosure filing in November, up 20% from the previous month and up 9% from November 2010. The increase in Stockton was driven largely by a 65% month-over-month increase in scheduled foreclosure auctions.
The eight other California cities with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 all posted double-digit percentage increases in scheduled foreclosure auctions in November, ranging from a 37% month-over-month increase in Modesto to a 100% month-over-month increase in Fresno.
Cities outside of California and Nevada with foreclosure rates ranking among the nation’s 20 highest metro foreclosure rates included Phoenix at No. 13 (one in every 209 housing units); Salt Lake City at No. 15 (one in every 223 housing units); Detroit at No. 17 (one in every 242 housing units); and Atlanta at No. 18 (one in every 244 housing units).
