Foreclosures Drop 30 Percent in U.S.

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Completed foreclosures in the U.S. dropped 30 percent in October, compared to last year, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. 

A total of 48,000 homes were foreclosed in October, down from 68,000 last year, and 25.6 percent lower than last month's 64,000 foreclosures. 

Since the beginning of the financial crisis in September 2008, there have been about 4.6 million completed foreclosures in the U.S., CoreLogic reports. In comparison, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month between 2000 and 2006. 

The national foreclosure inventory -- approximately 879,000 homes in some stage of foreclosure -- dropped 31 percent from last year as of October.

"Year over year, the foreclosure inventory, as a percentage of all homes with a mortgage, has declined almost a full percentage point to 2.2 percent," Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in the report. "This is good news for the housing and mortgage finance markets, but the rate remains elevated relative to the pre-crisis level of about 0.6 percent."

There are approximately 900,000 properties still in foreclosure, but a normal level would be only a quarter of the current stock, CoreLogic said. 

The state of Florida ranks highest, with a total of 114,588 completed foreclosures in the 12 months to October, underscoring the state's continued struggle with foreclosures.  

However, the report provides good news for nationwide foreclosure activity. 

"In October, every state posted a year-over-year decline in completed foreclosures, which is positive news," Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, said in the report." Additionally, the rate of serious delinquencies, which fell more than 25 percent year over year, is at the lowest level in nearly five years, which is great news as we head into a new year."

More from the report:

• The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in October 2013 were: Florida (115,000), Michigan (50,000), California (46,000), Texas (43,000) and Georgia (39,000). These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.

• The five states with the lowest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in October 2013 were: District of Columbia (57), North Dakota (411), Hawaii (491), West Virginia (514) and Wyoming (694).

• The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were Florida (7.1 percent), New Jersey (6.7 percent), New York (4.9 percent), Maine (3.8 percent) and Connecticut (3.7 percent).

• The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes were: Wyoming (0.4 percent), Alaska (0.6 percent), Nebraska (0.6 percent), North Dakota (0.7 percent) and Colorado (0.7 percent).

Judicial Foreclosure States Foreclosure Ranking (Ranked by Completed Foreclosures):