10:27am | National foreclosure activity fell to the lowest level for the month in two years, according to a report released today. Falling foreclosures are a good sign for high foreclosure areas, which include several affordable communities in and around Long Beach that saw much higher foreclosure rates than more affluent areas.
RealtyTrac;’s U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for November 2010 shows foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, were reported on 262,339 U.S. properties in November. That’s a 21% drop from the previous month and it’s down 14% from November 2009. One in 492 housing units in the U.S. received a foreclosure filing during the month, the report shows.
“Foreclosure activity decreased dramatically in November, with fewer than 300,000 properties receiving a foreclosure notice for the first time since February 2009,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio RealtyTrac said in a statement. “While part of the decrease can be attributed to a seasonal drop of 7 to 10% that typically occurs in November, fallout from the foreclosure robo-signing controversy forced lenders and servicers to hit the pause button on many foreclosures while they scrambled to revamp their internal procedures and revise or resubmit questionable paperwork.”
Both the month-to-month and year-over-year drop in foreclosure activity were the highest drops-offs recorded since the group began publishing the U.S. Foreclosure Report in January 2005, according to RealtyTrac.
Despite a 20% decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month, Nevada posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in November for the 47th consecutive month, with one in every 99 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.
Utah’s foreclosure rate rose to the nation’s second highest with one in 221 housing units received a foreclosure notice in November.
In California one in 233 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in November, giving the state the nation’s third highest foreclosure rate. California experienced a nearly 14% decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month and a 22% drop from November 2009. Despite the drops, California accounted for over one-fifth of the national total in November—the nation’s highest state total.
Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Idaho, Illinois and Colorado were other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in November.
California had another dubious distinction: Seven California cities posted foreclosure rates with top 10 rankings: Stockton (No. 2 with one in every 130 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing); Bakersfield (No. 3, one in 133 housing units); Modesto (No. 4, one in 135 housing units; Vallejo-Fairfield (No. 5, one in 144 housing units); Merced (No. 6, one in 147 housing units); Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario (No. 7, one in 148 housing units); and Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville (No. 9 one in 163 housing units).
With one in every 86 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing in November, the Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev., metro area maintained the nation’s highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more. Las Vegas foreclosure activity fell 19% from the previous month but was up 21% from November 2009.