The decline in foreclosures continued in September, although the rate remains above historical norms.
The number of completed foreclosures nationwide fell to 51,000 last month, a 39 percent decline from September 2012, according to the latest report from CoreLogic. From August to September, the number of foreclosures fell just 0.7 percent.
Even with the decrease, the housing market still has a long way to go before it has fully digested all the losses caused by the housing bust. Completed foreclosures averaged just 21,000 per month, nationwide, between 2000 and 2006.
“The number of seriously delinquent mortgages continues to drop across the country at a rapid rate, with every state showing year-over-year declines in foreclosure inventory,” Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, said in a statement. “We’re not out of the woods yet, but these are encouraging signs for a return to a healthier housing market.”
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About 900,000 homes in the U.S., or 2.3 percent of all homes with a mortgage, remained in some stage of foreclosure in September, down from 1.4 million in September 2012. Since August, national foreclosure inventory has fallen 3.3 percent to levels not seen since early 2009.
Five states accounted for almost half of all foreclosures completed nationally in the past year. With 115,000 foreclosures, Florida had the highest number of completed foreclosures in the 12 months ending in September. The state with the second-highest number of completed foreclosures was California (52,000), followed by Texas (43,000), Michigan (40,000), and Georgia (39,000).
