IRVINE, Calif.—During October 2014, there were 41,000 completed foreclosures nationally, down from 55,000 in October 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 26.4% and down 65% from the peak of completed foreclosures in September 2010, according to CoreLogic’s October National Foreclosure Report, which provides data on completed U.S. foreclosures and the foreclosure inventory.
On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures were down by 34.1% from the 62,000 reported in September of 2014.
As a basis of comparison, before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006, the company said.
“Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure,” CoreLogic said. “Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 5.3 million completed foreclosures across the country, and since homeownership rates peaked in the second quarter of 2004, there have been approximately seven million homes lost to foreclosure.
As of October 2014, approximately 605,000 homes nationally were in some stage of foreclosure, known as the foreclosure inventory, compared to 875,000 in October 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 30.9% and representing 36 consecutive months of year-over-year declines, CoreLogic said. The foreclosure inventory as of October 2014 made up 1.6% of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 2.2% in October 2013. On a month-over-month basis, the foreclosure inventory was down 2.1% from September 2014. The current foreclosure rate of 1.6% is the lowest inventory level since May 2008.
Other findings:
- October represents 25 consecutive months of year-over-year double-digit declines in the inventory of foreclosed homes.
- All but one state and the District of Columbia posted double-digit declines in foreclosure inventory year over year; West Virginia saw a decline of only 8.9%, and the District of Columbia saw a 17.3% increase.
- Nineteen states showed declines in year-over-year foreclosure inventory of greater than 30%, with Florida (-44.9%) and Utah (-41.6%) experiencing the largest declines.
- The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in October 2014 were: Florida (118,000), Michigan (45,000), Texas (36,000), California (29,000) and Georgia (28,000). These five states accounted for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.
- Four states and the District of Columbia experienced the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in October 2014: South Dakota (59), District of Columbia (70), North Dakota (257), West Virginia (515) and Wyoming (574).
- The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: New Jersey (5.5%), Florida (4.1%), New York (4.1%), Hawaii (2.9%) and Maine (2.6%).
- The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Alaska (0.4%), Minnesota (0.5%), Nebraska (0.5%), North Dakota (0.5%) and Wyoming (0.5%).