There were 54,000 completed foreclosures in the U.S. last month, down from 67,000 in February 2012, a year-over-year decrease of 19%, according to new data from Irvine, Calif.-based CoreLogic. On a month-over-month basis, completed foreclosures decreased 7%.
Approximately 1.2 million homes were in some stage of foreclosure as of February, compared to 1.5 million in February 2012, a decrease of 21%. The foreclosure inventory as of February represented 2.8% of all homes with a mortgage, compared to 3.5% in February 2012. This was the 16th consecutive month with a year-over-year decline. On a month-over-month measurement, the foreclosure inventory was down 1.8% from January.
The five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures for the 12 months ending in February 2013 were: Florida (95,000), California (90,000), Michigan (73,000), Texas (57,000) and Georgia (49,000). These five states account for almost half of all completed foreclosures nationally.
‘We continue to see a declining trend in foreclosure activity, with major markets leading the way,’ says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. ‘The drop in delinquencies and foreclosure starts will help support a resurgence in the home purchase market this year and next.’
