Florida foreclosures decline 17 percent in 3rd quarter

Colorado, which ranks No. 37 among the states for foreclosures, had a 17 percent decrease in the number of foreclosure filings from the second quarter of 2015 and is down 15 percent from the same time past year.

Based on third-quarter data, Florida posted the nation’s second-highest foreclosure rate, with one in every 186 housing units with a few type of foreclosure filing during the quarter, RealtyTrac said. “On the other hand, in states such as Texas, Michigan and Washington, the third-quarter increases are a sign that the foreclosure market has settled into a normalized pattern close to or even below pre-crisis levels, and in those states, the overall housing market should easily absorb the additional foreclosure activity with little impact on home values”. With a foreclosure rate of one in every 334 households, Ohio ranks No. 8 among states with the highest foreclosure rates, according to RealtyTrac.

Realty Trac says foreclosure starts in Florida were down 28 percent from a year ago, and scheduled foreclosure auctions were down 46 percent year-over-year. Bank repossessions dropped 34 percent, to 281, from 430 a year ago.

Check it out below from lowest foreclosure rate to highest.

Pierce County’s foreclosure activity increased by 7 percent year over year; Thurston County, a smaller market, was up 19 percent.

RealtyTrac posted an interactive Florida map on its website that shows a county-by-county breakdown of foreclosure activity.

On the front end of the foreclosure process, however, things continue to improve.

“We’re starting to see a pick-up in foreclosure activity, that’s for sure”, said Kal Mughrabi of Coldwell Banker Heritage Realtors in Springboro.

Filings in the Raleigh-Cary MSA dropped 3.5 percent to 439, compared with a year ago, but are up 4 percent from August.

“Additionally, more nonbank lenders who purchased nonperforming loans over the past couple years are moving forward with foreclosure, having passed the foreclosure moratorium of six to 12 months required by many of these purchase agreements”, said Blomquist.

About 43,358 properties started the foreclosure process in September – the lowest level since November 2005, RealtyTrac reports.

Lenders repossessed a total of 40,308 properties in September, up 10% from the previous month and up 76% from a year ago.

Banks continued to vigorously repossess troubled homes in September, both locally and throughout the nation.