CoreLogic released its February 2016 National Foreclosure Report today, which showed that completed foreclosures continue to be on the steady decline — lowering by 10 percent year-over-year and 2.6 percent month-over-month.
Specifically, in February there were 34,000 total foreclosures nationally, down from 38,000 at the same time last year. Still, these numbers have yet to reach the lows experienced by the pre-crisis market from 2000 to 2006, when the number of completed foreclosures per month was, on average, 21,000 nationwide.
CoreLogic’s February 2016 foreclosures, state by state.
Two key stats are the lowest they’ve been since 2007: The seriously delinquent rate (a number that represents those single-family homeowners who are 90-days or more past due on their mortgage payment), which came in at 3.2 percent in February 2016, and the overall foreclosure rate (which accounts for homes in any stage of the foreclosure process) which decreased by 23.9 percent year-over-year from 571,000 to 434,000.
“Job creation averaged 207,000 during the first two months of 2016, and incomes grew over the past year,” said CoreLogic’s chief economist Frank Nothaft, in the report.
“More income and improved household finances have helped bring serious delinquency rates down in nearly every state. However, serious delinquency rates increased in North Dakota and West Virginia, two states affected by price declines for the energy fuel each produces.”
That means that the national foreclosure inventory only accounts for 1.1 percent of all homes with a mortgage, in comparison to the 1.5 percent recorded in February 2015.
In addition, five states accounted for nearly half of completed foreclosures over the past 12 months:
- Florida (72,000 foreclosures)
- California (49,000 foreclosures)
- Texas (29,000 foreclosures)
- Michigan (25,000 foreclosures)
- Ohio (23,000 foreclosures)
CoreLogic’s February 2016 National Foreclosure Report, State Highlights.
In contrast, Washington, D.C., Wyoming, West Virginia and Arkansas had the lowest number of completed foreclosures over the last year.