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FORECLOSURE FILINGS HIT SIXAND-A-HALF-YEAR LOW
Foreclosure activity was sluggish in June,
dipping 14 percent from May and falling
35 percent from a year ago, according to
RealtyTrac's foreclosure market report released
in mid-July.
With 127,790 properties receiving a
foreclosure filing in June, RealtyTrac says
foreclosure activity fell to its lowest level since
December 2006. Meanwhile, the year-to-date
total for foreclosure filings numbered 801,359,
down 23 percent from the same period last year.
Foreclosure starts experienced an
exceptionally dramatic decline in June,
decreasing 45 percent year-over-year to their
lowest level since December 2005. At the pace
recorded in June, foreclosure starts are on track
to exceed 800,000 this year, but the total would
still fall short of the 1.1 million starts in 2012,
RealtyTrac noted.
While foreclosure activity dropped,
foreclosure auctions in judicial states
jumped 34 percent in June compared to
a year earlier. Judicial states with the
biggest increases included New Jersey (+103
percent), Florida (+100 percent), Maryland
(+94 percent), New York (+66 percent), and
Illinois (+65 percent).
"The increases in judicial foreclosure
auctions demonstrate that these delayed
foreclosure cases are now being moved more
quickly through to foreclosure completion,"
said Daren Blomquist, RealtyTrac VP.
"Given the rising home prices in most of
these markets, it is an opportune time
for lenders to dispose of these distressed
properties, either at the foreclosure auction
to a third-party buyer or by repossessing the
property at the auction and subsequently
selling it as a bank-owned home."
Even with judicial states seeing a pick-up
in activity and momentum, overall foreclosure
timelines increased in the second quarter,
averaging 526 days nationwide, compared to 477
days in the first quarter.
New York and New Jersey were home to the
longest timeframe for completing a foreclosure,
with the average number of days at 1,033 for
each state in Q2. Florida also stood out for its
lengthy foreclosure timeline of 907 days.
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VERBOSITY
"[T]he 2014 market
is gearing up to be
among the best in a
generation—especially at
price points considered to
be 'luxury.' The housing
market of 2010-2012
was characterized by
sales at price points
under $250,000. The
market of 2013 is
characterized by sales at
$500,000 and higher."
—Dan Green, loan officer at
Waterstone Mortgage and author
of TheMortgageReports.com
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