The national foreclosure inventory fell by nearly 160,000 this past August compared with last year, to 470,000, or 1.2 percent of all mortgaged homes in August, compared with 629,000, or 1.6 percent of all mortgaged homes in August 2014, CoreLogic reported.
“Mortgage performance continues to improve; however, there is a dichotomy between the performance of recently originated loans and legacy loans. Newly delinquent loans are at the lowest rates during the last two decades. That reflects the tight underwriting and improved economy during the last few years,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “However, the foreclosure pipeline of legacy loans remains elevated. Over the last 12 months, there have been 500,000 completed foreclosures – more than double the number during normal periods.”
Year-over-year, the number of foreclosures across the country has sank nearly 69 percent from 46,000 in August 2014 to 36,000 this August. The figure increased by less than 1 percent on a monthly basis from a rounded 36,000 in July. By comparison, completed foreclosures peaked at 117,357 in September 2010.
“In August, the housing market experienced solid and steady increases in sales, prices and performance, and our preview data indicates those trends will continue in September,” CoreLogic President and CEO Anand Nallathambi said. “Longer term, the recent increase in household formations and rapidly improving labor market for millennials will provide a demographic tailwind to the housing market and keep demand firm.”
Foreclosure inventory fell 25.2 percent overall, and completed foreclosures dropped 20.1 percent from last year. Florida remained the state with the most completed foreclosures at 94,000, compared with South Dakota, which had the least with just 45.
The number of mortgages in serious delinquency dropped 3.5 percent from last year, a decline of 1.3 million mortgages, which is the lowest figure since January 2008.