The number of U.S. foreclosures fell from April — with California seeing its second consecutive decline. U.S. repossessions improved on a year-over-year basis, the foreclosure rate was fell from the prior month and year and Vermont had the best record of any state.
Foreclosures — including default notices, scheduled auctions and repossessions — were filed on 321,480 properties last month, falling from 342,038 in April, RealtyTrac reported today. But filings jumped from a revised 273,001 during May 2008.
May was the third-highest month on record. So far during 2009, 1,467,007 U.S. foreclosures have been filed.
California filings were 92,249 in May, falling for the second consecutive month but still leaving the Golden State as the worst ranking. Florida’s 58,931 foreclosures placed that state in the No. 2 spot, followed by Nevada’s 17,157, Arizona’s 16,865 and Michigan’s 13,891.
Fewer foreclosures were filed in Vermont than any other state: six. However, RealtyTrac said it doesn’t necessarily track all of the smaller U.S. counties.
Last month’s foreclosure rate was one filing for each 398 households, improving from one filing for every 374 housing units in April and a revised one filing for every 463 households a year earlier.
Nevada had the worst rate, one filing for each 64 housing units, followed by California, where a foreclosure was filed for every 144 households. No. 3 Florida had a rate of one file per every 148 households, followed by Arizona at a foreclosure on each 158 housing units, and Utah, which had a filing on every 316 households.
With only one foreclosure filed on every 51,906 households, Vermont also had the lowest foreclosure rate.
By metropolitan are, Las Vegas had the highest foreclosure rate: one in 54 housing units. Stockton, Calif., was next, with one filing for each 68 households, followed one in 71 in Modesto, Calif.
Foreclosures were completed on 65,017 properties during May, climbing from the previous month’s 63,903 but better than the prior year’s revised 85,540. RealtyTrac projects real estate owned filings will spike this year as various moratoria end.
From Jan. 1 through May 31, U.S. REO filings total 319,463.
With 13,055 real estate owned filings, California surpassed all other states. Michigan followed with 6,246 REOs, then Florida’s 6,045, Arizona’s 4,753 and 3,748 in Texas.
Just five REOs were reported for Vermont — fewer than any other state.
