U.S. Foreclosures Drop 29 Percent, Inventory Falls

---

The number of completed foreclosures in the U.S. dropped 29 percent in November 2013, compared to the previous year, according to a report from CoreLogic.  

A total of 46,000 homes were foreclosed and lost in November, a decrease from the 64,000 homes lost in November 2012. This number is 8.3 percent lower than the revised 50,000 recorded in October 2013. 

The latest foreclosure report is another sign of the housing market recovery. A report from RealtyTrac today showed the number of mortgaged homes considered "deeply underwater" decreased last December. A separate report from CoreLogic showed more U.S. mortgaged homes returning to positive equity as the market continues its recovery. 

"Consumer confidence is definitely up as the economic rebound gathers more steam," Anand Nallathambi, president of CoreLogic, said in the report. "As the negative equity crisis abates and home prices continue to rise, most people are prioritizing the payment of their mortgage obligations. The result is a double-digit drop in the inventory of seriously delinquent homes in 48 states as of October."

At the end of November, there were less than two million mortgages, or five percent, in serious delinquency -- defined as 90 days or more past due -- including those in foreclosure or real estate owned. This is the lowest rate level for seriously delinquent mortgages since November 2008. 

"The rate of seriously delinquent loans is at a new five-year low, down 26 percent relative to a year ago," said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "The shadow inventory continues to decline as well, decreasing at an average monthly rate of 46,000 units over the last year. Healthy market levels of shadow inventory are around 650,000 units, so there is more to be done, but the trend is in the right direction."

The national shadow inventory -- homes seriously delinquent, in foreclosure or held as REO but not listed for sale -- stood at 1.7 million homes as of October 2013, representing a value of $256 billion, down 26.4 percent from a year earlier.

As of November 2013, there were approximately 812,000 homes in some stage of foreclosure, dropping 34 percent from the previous year.

More from the report: 

• The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in November 2013 were Florida (115,000), Michigan (54,000), California (42,000), Texas (40,000) and Georgia (36,000). 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 November 2013 were District of Columbia (51), North Dakota (401), Hawaii (480), West Virginia (524) and Wyoming (716).

• The five states with the highest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes as of November 2013 were Florida (6.6 percent), New Jersey (6.5 percent), New York (4.7 percent), Maine (3.5 percent) and Connecticut (3.5 percent).

• The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged homes as of November 2013 were Wyoming (0.4 percent), Alaska (0.5 percent), North Dakota (0.6 percent), Nebraska (0.6 percent) and Colorado (0.6 percent).