US Foreclosure Activity Decreases 15%

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IRVINE, CA-Reported foreclosure filings decreased 15% in November from the previous month and 37% from a year ago, reports RealtyTrac. The monthly decrease was the biggest month-over-month decrease since November 2010, when US foreclosure activity plummeted 21% in one month following the revelation of the so-called robo-signing scandal in October of that year, according to the firm.

Foreclosure starts were also down in November, decreasing 10% from the previous month and 32% from a year ago to the lowest level since December 2005, RealtyTrac reports. However, November foreclosure starts increased form a year ago in 15 states, including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Oregon and Connecticut.

“While some of the decrease in November can be attributed to seasonality, the depth and breadth of the decrease provides strong evidence that we are entering the 9^th inning of this foreclosure crisis with the outcome all but guaranteed,” says Daren Blomquist, VP of RealtyTrac. “While foreclosures will likely continue to stage a weak rally in certain markets next year as the last of the distress leftover from the Great Recession is dealt with, it is highly unlikely that there will be a foreclosure comeback that poses any major threat to the solid housing recovery that has now taken hold.”

To view the complete report from RealtyTrac, click here.

As GlobeSt.com reported last week, while overall US foreclosure activity was down 23% year-to-date through October 2013, foreclosure activity on homes in the $5 million-plus value range is up 61% from the same time period in 2012, reports RealtyTrac. The number of these ultra-high-end properties with a foreclosure notice in 2013 is relatively miniscule—fewer than 200 compared to 1.2 million total properties in all value ranges with foreclosure notices this year—but each of these high-value homes represents a much bigger potential loss for the foreclosing lender compared to a median-priced home, according to the firm.

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