Will Declines in Foreclosure Levels Slow?

Foreclosures and foreclosure inventory levels have recently slowed in their decline, and this trend could become more apparent in the latest CoreLogic Foreclosure Report, set to be released on Tuesday December 13th. Compared to a year earlier, the foreclosure inventory nationally in September (the latest data reported by CoreLogic) was 31.1 percent lower, while the number of completed foreclosures was down by only 7.0 percent, according to CoreLogic’s September 2016 National Foreclosure Report.

Anand Nallathambi, President and CEO of CoreLogic, said that heading into 2017, prices, performance, and production (the three most important drivers of the real estate market) are all improving.

"Completed foreclosures have fallen by a total of more than 100,000 homes during the 12 months prior to September 2016,” said Nallathambi. “The decline in foreclosures in one of the drivers in the drop in vacancies, which is positive for homeowners and communities.”

Nationally, there were 36,000 completed foreclosures in September. This is a decline of 3,000 from 2015. The national foreclosure inventory included approximately 340,000 homes with a mortgage (under 1 percent) compared with 493,000 homes the year prior. The numbers made August’s foreclosure inventory rate the lowest it's been since August 2007. Additionally, 48 states and the District of Columbia posted a double-digit decline in foreclosures from the previous year.

CoreLogic also reported that the number of mortgages in serious delinquency (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure or REO) declined by 24.8 percent from September of 2015.

“September’s serious delinquency rate dropped by 25 percent compared to a year earlier, the third consecutive monthly acceleration in the rate of decline,” said Frank Nothaft, Chief Economist for CoreLogic. "This improvement is continued evidence of the recovery in the housing market, especially given that the decreases were fairly uniform in most cities across the country."