October 18, 2009
U.S. properties subject to foreclosure filings totaled nearly 938,000 in the third quarter, up 23% from the year-earlier quarter and up 5% from the second quarter, RealtyTrac reported on Thursday.
The figures reflect properties subject to default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions in the quarter.
The figures indicate that 1 in every 136 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter. That's the highest quarterly rate since the Irvine, Calif., real-estate-consulting company began issuing its reports in first-quarter 2005.
Bank repossessions, known as real estate owned, increased in the third quarter from the second quarter in all but two states and Washington, D.C., RealtyTrac Chief Executive James J. Saccacio said in a statement.
That indicates that "lenders may be starting to work through some of the pent-up foreclosure inventory caused by legislative delays, loan-modification efforts, and high volumes of distressed properties," he said.
In September, foreclosure filings were reported on 344,000 properties, up 29% from a year earlier and down 4% from August 2009, RealtyTrac reported.
The September figure was the third-highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began its reports, lagging only July and August of 2009.
Nevada continued as the state with the highest foreclosure rate, with 1 in 23 housing units subject to a foreclosure filing in the third quarter, nearly six times the national average.
Almost 48,000 Nevada properties were the subject of foreclosure filings in the quarter. That's up 59% from the year-earlier quarter and 10% from the second quarter.
Arizona and California followed Nevada, each with a foreclosure rate of 1 in every 53 housing units.
In absolute numbers, California, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois and Michigan accounted for 62% of U.S. foreclosure activity in the third quarter, with a total of 580,000 properties subject to foreclosure filings.
California itself accounted for more than a quarter of the country's foreclosure filings in the quarter, with more than 250,000 properties. That's up 19% from the year-earlier quarter and off 1.5% from the second quarter of 2009.
Florida's foreclosure filings totaled 157,000 properties, up 23% from the year-earlier quarter and down less than 1% from second-quarter 2009.
And Arizona was third, with more than 50,000 properties subject to foreclosure filings. That's up 25% from the year-earlier quarter and up 5% from the second quarter of 2009.