U.S. Foreclosure Inventory Down 35 Percent in April

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According to CoreLogic's April 2014 National Foreclosure Report, there were 46,000 completed foreclosures nationally, down from 56,000 in April 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 18 percent. On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures were down slightly, by 0.4 percent, from the 47,000* reported in March 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.

Completed foreclosures are an indication of the total number of homes actually lost to foreclosure. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 5 million completed foreclosures across the country.

As of April 2014, approximately 694,000 homes in the United States were in some stage of foreclosure, known as the foreclosure inventory, compared to 1.1 million in April 2013, a year-over-year decrease of 35 percent.

The foreclosure inventory as of April represented 1.8 percent of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 2.7 percent in April 2013. The foreclosure inventory was down 4.7 percent from March 2014, representing the 30th month of year-over-year declines.

"Over the last 12 months, completed foreclosures fell to 599,000, the lowest level since the Great Recession began in 2007," said Sam Khater, deputy chief economist for CoreLogic. "At the current pace of completed foreclosures, and given the current foreclosure inventory, it will take 14 months to move all of the foreclosed inventory through the pipeline."

"We have now registered two and a half years of continuous decreases in the number of homeowners who are in some stage of the foreclosure process. This consistent decline means fewer Americans are experiencing the distress of delinquency and default," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "The recovery may be slow, but it is steady."

CoreLogic Highlights for April 2014:

• Every state, excluding New York and the District of Columbia, posted double-digit year-over-year declines in foreclosures.

• Thirty-seven states show declines in year-over-year foreclosure inventory of greater than 30 percent with Arizona, Utah, Minnesota and California and experiencing declines greater than 50 percent.

• The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in April 2014 were: Florida (121,000), Michigan (46,000), Texas (38,000), California (33,000) and Georgia (32,000).These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.

• The five states (including the District of Columbia) with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in April 2014 were: the District of Columbia (68), North Dakota (352), West Virginia (517), Wyoming (718) and Alaska (844).

• The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: New Jersey (6.0 percent), Florida (5.4 percent), New York (4.6 percent), Hawaii (3.1 percent) and Maine (3.0 percent).

• The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Alaska (0.4 percent), Wyoming (0.4 percent), North Dakota (0.5 percent), Nebraska (0.5 percent) and Minnesota (0.5 percent).