RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, on Thursday said foreclosure activity in April decreased 14 percent from April 2011 and was down 5 percent from the previous month, touching the lowest monthly total in about five years. One in every 698 U.S. housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month.
Releasing its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for April, the market researcher said foreclosure filings, which include default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, were reported on 188,780 U.S. properties in April, the lowest monthly total since July 2007.
Brandon Moore, CEO of RealtyTrac, said, "Rising foreclosure activity in many state and local markets in April was masked at the national level by sizable decreases in hard-hit foreclosure states like California, Arizona and Nevada. Those three states, and several other non-judicial foreclosure states like them, more efficiently processed foreclosures last year, resulting in fewer catch-up foreclosures this year."
Combined foreclosure activity in the 24 states with a non-judicial foreclosure process and the District of Columbia decreased 29 percent from last year and dropped 7 percent from the previous month with more populous states like Arizona, California and Nevada driving the overall decreases.
In the 26 states with a judicial foreclosure process, combined foreclosure activity increased 15 percent from April 2011, but decreased 3 percent from the previous month.
Foreclosure starts - default notices or scheduled foreclosure auctions - decreased 4 percent from March to April.
Bank repossessions or REOs decreased on a monthly basis for the third consecutive month in April and were down 7 percent from March. The foreclosure process was completed on 51,415 U.S. properties during the month, down 26 percent from April 2011.
Meanwhile, 11 of the nation's 20 largest metro areas based on population documented annual increases in foreclosure activity, led by the Florida cities of Tampa and Miami.
Nevada, California and Florida posted top state foreclosure rates in April. Nevada's foreclosure activity decreased 67 percent from April 2011, but the state witnessed a 15 percent month-over-month increase in foreclosure starts.
California's foreclosure activity decreased 30 percent from last year while Florida's foreclosure activity increased 26 percent from April 2011.
Moore added that more distressed loans are being diverted into short sales rather than becoming completed foreclosures. RealtyTrac's preliminary first quarter sales data shows that pre-foreclosure sales -- typically short sales -- are on pace to outnumber sales of bank-owned properties in California, Arizona and 10 other states.
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