Despite an up tick in new and overall foreclosure filings last month, annual activity turned lower. Repossessions and the foreclosure rate also improved for the year.
The foreclosure process was initiated on 59,358 home loans in the month of December — the most new filings in 17 months.
During the previous month, residential loan servicers started the foreclosure process on 55,906 U.S. properties.
The report, released Thursday by RealtyTrac, said the surge was the result of a previously existing supply of distressed properties and not a cause for concern.
For all of 2014, however, the foreclosure process was initiated on
643,193 U.S. home loans — the fewest since RealtyTrac began tracking foreclosures in 2006. Annual foreclosure starts pulled back from 747,728 in 2013.
During December, 114,222 U.S. properties were hit with some sort of foreclosure filing — including notices of default and Lis Pendens; notices of trustee sale and notices of foreclosure sale; and real-estate-owned filings.
Activity
rose from 112,498 filings in November. but was off from 115,342 in December 2013.
Full-year 2014 saw
1,117,426 properties hit with a foreclosure filing, fewer than the 1,361,795 a year earlier and the lowest number since 2006, when 717,522 properties had a foreclosure filing.
Foreclosures have plummeted 61 percent from the peak reached in 2010, when 2,871,891 properties had a filing.
Foreclosures in Florida numbered 206,247 last year, more than any other state.
Next was New Jersey’s 66,627. Maryland’s 40,143 followed, then 73,035 in Illinois and 15,506 in Nevada.
With just 30 properties that faced a foreclosure filing in 2014, North Dakota had the fewest.
Last year’s U.S. foreclosure rate worked out to one filing on each 118 housing units.
The rate improved from one-in-96 in 2013.
Florida had the worst foreclosure rate in 2014: one filing for each 44 homes.
No. 2 New Jersey had a filing on each 53 housing units, then Maryland’s one-in-59, Illinois’ one-in-72 and Nevada’s one-in-76.
Only one filing was made per every 10,649 housing units in North Dakota — the best rate in the nation.
Mortgage servicers completed the foreclosure process on 24,005 loans during December, fewer than the 25,249 repossessions a month earlier
and 31,621 real-estate-owned filings a year earlier.
Last month’s activity brought full-year 2014 completed foreclosures to
327,069 — significantly fewer than 462,970 in 2013.
Florida had the most repossessions last year: 70,512.
With 30,296 REO filings, California ranked second. No. 3 Illinois had 22,307 completed foreclosures, then 17,382 in Georgia and 16,964 in Ohio.
North Dakota had 17 REO filings — the least of any state.
