Whether it was foreclosure filings, the foreclosure rate or completed foreclosures — month-over-month activity deteriorated. Florida had the worst record in each category.
Last month, U.S. foreclosures were started on 55,573 home loans. Filings worsened from the 49,624 foreclosures initiated in July.
During the eight months that ended on Aug. 31, mortgage servicers started foreclosures on 421,104 residential loans.
RealtyTrac, which announced the data, previously reported that foreclosure starts totaled 56,775 in August 2013.
With 6,468 foreclosures started, Florida had more than any other state. California’s 6,211 ranked second, followed by New Jersey’s 4,470, Texas’ 2,937 and New York’s 2,812.
No foreclosures were initiated in North Dakota.
Including notices of default and Lis Pendens, notices of trustee’s sale, and notices of foreclosure sale, and real-estate-owned filings — foreclosures were filed on 116,913 U.S. properties during August.
Total filings climbed from 109,434 a month earlier but retreated from 128,560 a year earlier.
“The August foreclosure numbers demonstrate that although the foreclosure crisis is well behind us, the messy business of cleaning up the distress lingering from the housing bust continues in many markets,” RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist stated in the report. “The annual increase in foreclosure auctions — the first since the robo-signing controversy rocked the foreclosure industry back in late 2010 — indicates mortgage servicers are finally adjusting to the new paradigms for proper foreclosure that have been implemented in many states, whether by legislation or litigation or both.”
Filings were made on 22,468 Florida properties — more than any of its peers. California saw 13,303 filings, then 7,015 in Georgia, 6,434 in New Jersey and 6,284 in Illinois.
North Dakota had the fewest filings:Â none.
The U.S. foreclosure rate was one filing for each 1,126 housing units last month, worsening from one-in-1,203 in July but easing up from one-in-1,019 in August 2013.
Florida had a filing on each 400 homes, the worst of any state. The Sunshine State’s standing was bolstered by eight metropolitan statistical areas in the state that were among the 10-worst in the nation.
Nevada was No. 2 with one-in-524 filings. After that was Maryland’s one-in-532, New Jersey’s one-in-553 and Georgia’s one-in-582.
North Dakota had no effective rate, the best record in the country.
The ultimate metric, completed foreclosures, climbed nationally to 26,343 in August from 25,937 the previous month. REO filings totaled 39,277 in the same month last year.
From Jan. 1 through Aug. 31, repossessions amounted to 226,971.
Florida had the most completed foreclosures: 5,277. No. 2 Georgia saw 4,204 repossessions, followed by California’s 2,152, Illinois’ 1,612 and Ohio’s 1,406.
No foreclosures were completed in North Dakota.
