Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
A new report from RealtyTrac has revealed that foreclosure filing numbers in August dropped by 6% from the previous month, while year on year foreclosures have dropped by 38% compared to the end of August 2010.
Foreclosure activity down 6% from last month © Paul Fleet - Fotolia.com
However, it may not be all good news, as analysts expect that foreclosure activity may well pick up in the coming months, said RealtyTrac’s chief executive James Saccacio in an interview with CNN Money.
“While foreclosure activity in September and the third quarter continued to register well below levels from a year ago, there is evidence that this temporary downward trend is about to change direction, with foreclosure activity slowly beginning to ramp back up”
RealtyTrac said that they have already seen slight increases in foreclosure numbers when the data is compared on a quarterly basis. Third quarter foreclosures inched upwards by 1%, reversing a trend of three consecutive quarterly decreases.
According to Saccacio, the increase could be put down to a 14% increase in the number of new default notices, something that indicates mortgage providers are getting back down to the business of recouping their losses following a period spent trying to stem the previously alarming rate of foreclosures.
The processing of foreclosures continues to be extremely lengthy however, with the average foreclosed home taking 366 from the beginning to end of the process. This represents an increase from the 318 day average that RealtyTrac recorded in the second quarter.
In some parts of the country, the foreclosure process is taking much longer than the national average. In New York for example, it takes an average of 986 days from the time notice is given until the time the foreclosed home is finally shifted. Texas meanwhile, was the fastest state for foreclosing homes, taking just 86 day on average.
