CoreLogic: Foreclosures, Delinquencies Continue to Move in ‘Right Direction’

(Editor’s Note: This morning, the Mortgage Bankers Association will release its 4th Quarter National Delinquency Survey.)

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., reported completed foreclosures in December fell by 40 percent from a year ago and by 82 percent from its recession peak in 2010.

The company’s National Foreclosure Report said lenders and servicers completed 21,000 foreclosures in December, down by 8.1 percent from November (23,000) and down by 40 percent from a year ago. From the peak foreclosure period in September 2010 (118,336), foreclosures fell by 82 percent.

As a further basis of comparison, completed foreclosures averaged about 22,000 per month nationwide between 2000 and 2006.

CoreLogic also reported substantial drops in foreclosure inventories. As of December, the national foreclosure inventory included 329,000, or 0.8 percent, of all homes with a mortgage, a 1.9 percent drop from November and compared to 467,000 homes, or 1.2 percent, a year ago, a 30 percent drop.

Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, CoreLogic reported 6.5 million completed foreclosures nationally; since homeownership rates peaked in second quarter 2004, 8.6 million homes have been lost to foreclosure.

CoreLogic also reported mortgages in serious delinquency (defined as 90 days or more past due including loans in foreclosure or REO) declined by 19.4 percent from a year ago to one million mortgages, or 2.6 percent, in serious delinquency, the lowest level since August 2007. The decline was geographically broad with year-over-year decreases in serious delinquency in 48 states and the District of Columbia.

“Foreclosure and delinquency trends continue to head in the right direction powered principally by increasing employment levels, stringent underwriting standards and higher home prices over the past few years,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “As the foreclosure inventory diminishes, we must look ahead and tackle tight housing supply and growing affordability issues which are keeping many potential homebuyers, especially first-time buyers, on the sidelines.”

Corelogic Chief Economist Frank noted while the decline in serious delinquency has been geographically broad, some oil-producing markets have shown the effects of low oil prices on the housing market. Serious delinquency rates rose in Louisiana, Wyoming and North Dakota, reflecting the weakness in oil production.”

Other report highlights:

–States with the highest number of completed foreclosures in the 12 months ending in December were Florida (45,000), Michigan (30,000), Texas (24,000), Ohio (21,000) and California (19,000).These five states accounted for 36 percent of all completed foreclosures nationally.

–States with the lowest number of completed foreclosures in the 12 months ending in December: North Dakota (182), District of Columbia (254), West Virginia (312), Montana (630) and Alaska (668).

–States with the highest foreclosure inventory rate in December: New Jersey (2.8 percent), New York (2.7 percent), Maine (1.8 percent), Hawaii (1.7 percent) and the District of Columbia (1.6 percent).

–States with the lowest foreclosure inventory rate in December were Colorado (0.2 percent), Minnesota (0.3 percent), Utah (0.3 percent), Arizona (0.3 percent) and California (0.3 percent).