Completed Foreclosures Fell 25.9% YOY in November

Irvine, CA, January 10, 2017—Foreclosure inventory declined by 30% and completed foreclosures declined by 25.9% compared with November 2015, according to CoreLogic’s November 2016 National Foreclosure Report.

The number of completed foreclosures nationwide decreased year over year from 35,000 in November 2015 to 26,000 in November 2016, representing a decrease of 78.2% from the peak of 118,339 in September 2010.

The foreclosure inventory represents the number of homes at some stage of the foreclosure process and completed foreclosures reflect the total number of homes lost to foreclosure. Since the financial crisis began in September 2008, there have been approximately 6.5 million completed foreclosures nationally, and since homeownership rates peaked in the second quarter of 2004, there have been approximately 8.6 million homes lost to foreclosure.

As of November 2016, the national foreclosure inventory included approximately 325,000, or 0.8%, of all homes with a mortgage, compared with 465,000 homes, or 1.2%, in November 2015.

CoreLogic also reports that the number of mortgages in serious delinquency (defined as 90 days or more past due including loans in foreclosure or REO) declined by 22.1% from November 2015 to November 2016, with 1 million mortgages, or 2.5%, in serious delinquency, the lowest level since August 2007. The decline was geographically broad with year-over-year decreases in serious delinquency in 48 states and the District of Columbia.

“The decline in serious delinquency has been substantial, but the default rate remains high in select markets,” said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Serious delinquency rates were the highest in New Jersey and New York at 5.6% and 5%, respectively. In contrast, the lowest delinquency rate occurred in Colorado at 0.9% where a strong job market and home-price growth have enabled more homeowners to stay current.”

“The 7% appreciation in home prices through November 2016 has added an average of $12,500 in home-equity wealth per homeowner across the U.S. during the last year,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Sustained growth in home prices is clearly bolstering homeowners’ spending power and balance sheets and, as a result, spurring a continued drop in defaults.”