PROVIDENCE – Foreclosure filings in Rhode Island decreased 23 percent in 2009 compared with the prior year, bucking a national trend, according to data released Thursday by real-estate tracking firm RealtyTrac Inc.
Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac said there were 5,056 foreclosure filings in the state during 2009, or one for every 89 homes. While that was down compared with 2008, it was an increase of 175 percent from 2007.
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Nationally, RealtyTrac said one in every 45 homes received a foreclosure filing during 2009, up 21 percent from last year and 119 percent from 2007.
Nevada, Arizona and Florida had the highest percentage of foreclosure filings anywhere in the country. RealtyTrac said more than 10 percent of homes received foreclosure notices in Nevada, while 6 percent did in Arizona and 5.9 percent did in Florida.
The rate of foreclosure in Rhode Island last year – with 1.12 percent of its housing units receiving at least one foreclosure filing during the year – ranked at No. 27 among the 50 states. The lowest rate was in Vermont, where just 0.05 percent of housing units got a foreclosure notice in 2009.
“As bad as the 2009 numbers are, they probably would have been worse if not for legislative and industry-related delays in processing delinquent loans,” RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer James J. Saccacio said in a statement.
“After peaking in July with over 361,000 homes receiving a foreclosure notice, we saw four-straight monthly decreases driven primarily by short-term factors: trial loan modifications, state legislation extending the foreclosure process and an overwhelming volume of inventory clogging the foreclosure pipeline,” Saccacio said.
Additional information is available at realtytrac.com.
