Foreclosure Activity Declined in May
Foreclosure activity fell 2 percent in May from the previous month and 33 percent from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac. One in every 605 homes, or 214,927 properties, received a foreclosure filing during the month. Foreclosure filings include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions.

RealtyTrac’s CEO, James J. Saccacio, attributed the decline in part to holdups at banks. “Foreclosure processing delays continue to mask the true face of the foreclosure situation, although there were some clues in the May numbers of what lies behind that mask,” he says. “First, activity spiked in May for various stages of the foreclosure process in some states, a pattern that has occurred in several states over the past few months. This pattern provides evidence that lenders are somewhat unevenly pushing batches of bad loans through foreclosure as they overhaul their paperwork and documentation procedures and as they determine that some local markets are able to absorb more foreclosure inventory.”

Nevada posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate for the 53rd straight month in May, with one in every 103 homes receiving a foreclosure filing during the month. Arizona posted the nation’s second-highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 210 homes receiving a foreclosure filing, and California was third, with one in every 259 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Article per CRS Member Connect