Average Time to Foreclose Hits High

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IRVINE, CA-The average time to complete a foreclosure nationwide in the fourth quarter increased 3% from the previous quarter to a record-high 564 days, reports RealtyTrac. States with the longest time to foreclose were New York, New Jersey and Florida.

Daren Blomquist, VP of RealtyTrac, tells GlobeSt.com, “The increasing time to foreclose is probably the most negative metric in this report because it allows for the possibility that at least part of the decrease in foreclosure activity is not the result of a market recovery, but instead because a slower flow of foreclosures through the pipeline. We can't declare the market completely out of the woods when it comes to the foreclosure problem until we see the foreclosure timeline decline in tandem with a decrease in foreclosure activity.”

In addition, the average estimated value of a property receiving a foreclosure filing in 2013 was $191,693 at the time of the foreclosure filing, up 1% from the average value in 2012, and the average estimated market value of properties that received foreclosure filings in 2013 has increased 10% since the foreclosure notice was filed, according to the firm.

As GlobeSt.com reported earlier today, while overall foreclosure activity increases in 10 states including Washington, nationwide filings are down significantly from 2012 and down 53% from their peak in 2010, according to RealtyTrac. Foreclosure filings were down 26% from 2012, representing the lowest annual total since 2007, the firm reports.

See the charts below for more interesting information about foreclosures.

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