Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Foreclosure rates for last month were at their lowest level since July 2006 when the housing market collapsed. Experts anticipate foreclosure rates will continue to decline right through to the first half of next year.
According to figures from RealtyTrac, there were 107,194 homes that were at some stage of the foreclosure process during last month. These figures show a 2% decline on the previous month of May. All in all, foreclosure activity which includes bank repossessions, scheduled auctions and foreclosure notices, was 16% below levels seen a year earlier. The article in AOL.com goes on to say that over the next six to nine months it is anticipated that foreclosure levels will decline until the figures return to levels regarded as being historically normal. June marked the forty fifth consecutive month of foreclosure declines on an annual basis.
The declining level of available foreclosure properties has decreased the overall supply of homes in the real estate market. This is pushing up prices, and when combined with rising interest rates has meant the housing market recovery has slowed down. In June, lenders repossessed a total of 26,889 properties, a decline of 5% compared to the previous month, and the lowest level since June 2007. The number of repossessions was down by 24% compared to a year earlier.
Throughout the nation there were 46,743 homes due to go to auction in June, which is a 13% decline compared to a year earlier. This meant the number of homes going to foreclosure auctions was at its lowest level since July 2006.
During June, lenders began the foreclosure process on 47,243 properties, a decline of 18% compared to figures recorded a year earlier. This is the lowest level seen since November 2005.
The highest foreclosure rates were seen in the states of New Jersey, Nevada and Illinois, but Florida topped the list for having the highest rates in the nation. The report from RealtyTrac also included figures for the first six months of this year, showing that foreclosure activity declined in 79% of 212 metropolitan areas for this period.
The amount of foreclosure activity for the first half of this year was also down by 23% compared to the same period last year. The vice president of Realty Trac, Daren Blomquist, has pointed out that even though it is important that the remaining numbers of foreclosures are addressed, they are no longer such a threat to the housing markets return to health.
