Foreclosure activity declined to the lowest level in more than eight years. Filings have subsided on a year-over-year basis for 48 months in a row.
Servicers of the nation’s home loans filed foreclosures on 106,866 properties during September, RealtyTrac reported. Filings included default notices, scheduled auctions and repossessions.
That was the fewest number of homes on a national basis to face a foreclosure filing during any month since July 2006.
Activity fell from the previous month, when 116,913 U.S. properties were hit with a foreclosure filing.
During the same month in 2013, a total of 131,232 U.S. properties faced a foreclosure filing. There have been 48 consecutive year-over-year declines in foreclosures.
Among all states, Florida had the most properties with a filing:Â 20,689. But activity slowed from 22,468 filings in August.
No. 2 California had 12,299 filings, then 6,959 in New Jersey, 6,706 in Illinois and 5,026 in Ohio.
The fewest filings were reported for North Dakota: none.
On a national basis, one foreclosure was filed on every 1,232 housing units in September.
The U.S. rate improved from one-in-1,126 the prior month and one-in-998 during the same month the prior year.
The Sunshine State also had the worst rate in this category at one filing for each 434 housing units. Hurting Florida’s rate was Orlando, where the rate was one-in-117 — the worst of any metropolitan statistical area.
New Jersey’s one-in-511 rate was the second-worst. After that was Maryland’s one-in-673, Illinois’ one-in-789 and Nevada’s one-in-797.
Moving on to completed foreclosures, there were 22,930 across the country last month. Real-estate-owned filings fell from 26,343 in August and tumbled from 38,334 in September 2013.
In the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2014, there were 249,901 U.S. repossessions.
Florida also led this category with 5,628 REOÂ filings in September. California’s 2,086 followed, then 1,752 in Illinois, 1,320 in Ohio and 1,016 in Pennsylvania.
During the third quarter, it took an average of 615 days to complete a U.S. foreclosure. But turnaround was 1,064 days in New Jersey — longer than any other state.
Florida took 951 days, followed by Hawaii’s 937 days, New York’s 902 days and Illinois’ 889 days.
