IRVINE, Calif. – Compared with October 2007, Rhode Island home foreclosure and default filings last month rose at more than twice the national rate of increase, although they fell short of September foreclosure and default filings. Massachusetts filings, which also fell compared with September, nearly matched the national year-over-year rise of 24.55 percent.
Nationwide, the number of foreclosure filings reported in October was 265,968, an increase of 5.11 percent from the month before. (READ MORE)
U.S. filings accelerated from September’s year-over-year increase of 20.98 percent and month-over-month decline of 12.48 percent. But Massachusetts filings slowed from September’s month-over-month rise of 14.06 percent and year-over-year increase of 64.14 percent. And Rhode Island filings also slowed from September, when they rose 12 percent compared with August and 122.38 percent compared with a year ago.
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In all, 582 default and foreclosure filings were reported last month in the Ocean State – one notice of default, up from 0 in September; 284 foreclosure sale notices, up from 425; and 197 real estate owned (REO) properties foreclosed and repurchased by the bank, up slightly from the preceding month’s 191 – for an overall decline of 5.52 percent compared with September but an increase of 60.77 percent increase compared with October 2007.
In Massachusetts, 3,630 foreclosure actions were reported in October – 1,577 default notices, down from September’s 2,222; 862 notices of sales, down from 934; and 1,191 REOs, up from 826 in September – falling 8.84 percent compared with September but rising 25 percent compared with October 2007.
“We’ve seen sharp declines in new foreclosure filings after legislation mandating delays to the foreclosure process was signed into law in several states – most notably in California, where overall foreclosure activity was down by double-digit percentage points for the second straight month,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio wrote. Total filings in California fell 18 percent compared with September but rose 13 percent compared with a year ago.
“Despite this,” Saccacio added, “October marks the 34th consecutive month where U.S. foreclosure activity has increased compared to the prior year.
“While the intention behind this legislation – to prevent more foreclosures – is admirable, without a more integrated approach that includes significant loan modifications, the net effect may be merely delaying inevitable foreclosures. And in the meantime, the apparent slowing of foreclosure activity understates the severity of the foreclosure problem in these states,” he said.
Massachusetts –one of the first states to target distressed homeowners for assistance (READ MORE) – had the nation’s 21st-highest rate of foreclosure completions, which last month claimed one of every 746 homes statewide. Rhode Island was 22nd, with one sale for every 772 housing units. Both states had October rates far better than the national average of 1 foreclosure for every 452 households.
Nevada had the highest rate, for the 22nd consecutive month, posting 1 foreclosure for every 74 housing units. (Total filings in the state rose 11 percent compared with September and nearly 119 percent compared with a year ago, to 14,483 properties in default or foreclosure, RealtyTrac said.) Next were Arizona, with one filing for every 149 homes, and Florida, with one in every 157. Filling out the Top 10 were California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois and Ohio.
In comments today before the Tech Council of Maryland, Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, predicted the residential market would begin recovering sometime next year. “I would be surprised if we don’t see a bottom in housing construction around the middle of 2009,” Lacker said, according to Bloomberg News. “This is the third straight year, however, that I’ve been expecting a bottom in the housing market in the middle of next year, so my outlook is tempered by more than the usual amount of humility.”
RealtyTrac Inc. is a publisher of data and advice for real estate markets nationwide. To learn more, go to www.RealtyTrac.com or visit the company’s distressed-property blog at www.ForeclosurePulse.com.
