A sure-fire sign of an improving real estate market is the fall of foreclosure activity, and luckily those trends are down throughout the nation for the eighth consecutive month, according to RealtyTrac’s newly released data.

  • RealtyTrac reported foreclosure activity is below 2006 levels throughout the nation, but 18 states are still posting gains.
  • The District of Columbia saw a 230.43 percent annual increase in foreclosure activity.
  • A total of 1,857 homes were in the foreclosure process or under foreclosure in the metro area.

A sure-fire sign of an improving real estate market is the fall of foreclosure activity, and luckily those trends are down throughout the nation for the eighth consecutive month, according to RealtyTrac‘s newly released data.

Monitoring foreclosure activity throughout the nation down to a city level, the data showed that foreclosure activity is below 2006 average monthly levels.

However, not all states are measuring equally. RealtyTrac reported 18 states and the District of Columbia posted a year-over-year increase in foreclosures. The highest foreclosure rates were seen in Delaware, Florida, Nevada, Maryland and New Jersey.

A few metro areas witnessed gains in foreclosure activity as well, including Rockford, Illinois; Trenton, New Jersey; Tuscon, Arizona and St. Petersburg, Florida.

DC foreclosure

In the entire Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro, a total of 1,857 homes were reported in or going through the foreclosure process. Compared with May 2015, foreclosure activity in the D.C. metro’s counties dipped 8.52 percent. Foreclosures dipped even more on a monthly basis in May, at 20.54 percent.

In the District of Columbia itself, foreclosure activity fell 11.63 percent in May over April. But looking at the annual change, the District saw a massive uptick of foreclosure activity by 230.43 percent.

All Maryland counties reported saw a monthly dip in foreclosure activity, and all but one posted a dip on an annual basis. Prince George’s County saw an increase of 5.64 percent on an annual basis in May 2016. Calvert County in Maryland had the biggest annual dip of 36.49 percent.

Virginia counties were reported all across the board, with the biggest annual gain reported in Fauquier County of 77.78 percent. The biggest yearly dip was seen in Culpeper County of 45 percent.

Email Kimberly Manning

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