National U.S. Foreclosure Inventory Down 31.5 Percent Annually in October

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According to CoreLogic's October 2016 National Foreclosure Report, U.S. foreclosure inventory declined by 31.5 percent and completed foreclosures declined by 24.9 percent compared with October 2015. The number of completed foreclosures nationwide decreased year over year from 40,000 in October 2015 to 30,000 in October 2016, representing a decrease of 74.7 percent from the peak of 118,287 in September 2010.

The foreclosure inventory represents the number of homes at some stage of the foreclosure process and completed foreclosures reflect the total number of homes lost to foreclosure. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 6.5 million completed foreclosures nationally, and since homeownership rates peaked in the second quarter of 2004, there have been approximately 8.5 million homes lost to foreclosure.

As of October 2016, the national foreclosure inventory included approximately 328,000, or 0.8 percent, of all homes with a mortgage, compared with 479,000 homes, or 1.2 percent, in October 2015.

CoreLogic also reports that the number of mortgages in serious delinquency (defined as 90 days or more past due including loans in foreclosure or REO) declined by 24.8 percent from October 2015 to October 2016, with 1 million mortgages, or 2.5 percent, in serious delinquency, the lowest level since August 2007. The decline was geographically broad with decreases in serious delinquency in 47 states and the District of Columbia.

"Loan performance varies by the health of the local economy and housing market. Alaska, North Dakota and Wyoming, three states with energy-related job loss, experienced a rise in serious delinquency rates while all other states had a decline," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. "Although there were large declines in foreclosure rates in New York and New Jersey, both states experienced the highest serious delinquency rates in the nation, reflecting lagging home values in most neighborhoods and an unemployment rate above the national average."

"Housing and labor markets improved over the past year, setting the stage for further declines in foreclosure rates across much of the nation," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "Home values posted an annual gain of 5.8 percent through September in the CoreLogic Home Price Index, and payroll employment rose 2.4 million for the year through October."

Additional October 2016 highlights:

• On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures declined by 27.5 percent to 30,000 in October 2016 from the 41,000 reported for September 2016. As a basis of comparison, before the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 22,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006.

• On a month-over-month basis, the October 2016 foreclosure inventory was down 3.6 percent compared with September 2016.

• The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures in the 12 months ending in October 2016 were Florida (51,000), Michigan (29,000), Texas (26,000), Ohio (23,000) and Georgia (20,000). These five states accounted for 36 percent of completed foreclosures nationally.

• Four states and the District of Columbia had the lowest number of completed foreclosures in the 12 months ending in October 2016: the District of Columbia (212), North Dakota (278), West Virginia (407), Alaska (622), and Montana (660).

• Four states and the District of Columbia had the highest foreclosure inventory rate in October 2016: New Jersey (2.8 percent), New York (2.7 percent), Maine (1.7 percent), Hawaii (1.7 percent) and the District of Columbia (1.6 percent).

• The five states with the lowest foreclosure inventory rate in October 2016 were Colorado (0.3 percent), Minnesota (0.3 percent), Arizona (0.3 percent), Utah (0.3 percent) and Michigan (0.3 percent).