Foreclosure Reality Distorted by Processing Delays

 

Still, the numbers are still depressing; one in every 111 housing units (0.9 percent) received some type of foreclosure filing during the six month period, a total of 1,170,402 filings.

RealtyTrack has reported a generally downward trend in foreclosure filings since last fall, but the monthly variations tended to mask the magnitude of the trajectory. 

The mid-year report solidifies the impression of an improving situation. Foreclosure filings nationwide were down 29 percent during the first half of 2011 compared to the last half of 2010 and were 25 percent lower than filings during the first half of last year.

RealtyTrac, an Irvine, Calif. firm bases its reports on a database derived from a nationwide survey of foreclosure filings. June filings were up 4 percent from those in May but were still down 29 percent from June 2010 marking the ninth straight month where filings were down on a year-over-year basis.

The report contains not only half year and June data but also information on the second quarter of 2011 during which there were 608,235 foreclosure filings. This was a decrease of 10.7 percent from quarter one and 32 percent from the second quarter of 2010.

The length of time from default to foreclosure auction continues to grow. U.S. properties foreclosed in the second quarter were in the foreclosure process an average of 318 days from the initial foreclosure notice to the completed foreclosure, up from a revised 298 days in the first quarter and 277 days in the second quarter of 2010.

– Courtesy of Mortgage News Daily, Jann Swanson