IRVINE, Calif. – The number of foreclosure actions reported statewide surged last month in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts, as the situation in both states worsened more quickly than that in the rest of the nation.
In Rhode Island, a total of 546 foreclosure actions were reported in May: 419 foreclosure sales and 127 real estate owned (REO) properties foreclosed and repurchased by the bank (figures on default filings are not available for Rhode Island). That represented an increase of 24.37 percent compared with the preceding month and 107.60 percent compared with May 2007.
In Massachusetts last month, 6,676 foreclosure actions were reported: 2,975 defaults, 1,584 notices of sales and 2,117 REOs. That represented an increase of 32.83 percent compared with April and 54.61 percent compared with a year ago – but those comparisons may not be accurate, RealtyTrac said, because of data-collection changes that are reflected in the latest report.
Nationwide, the number of foreclosure actions rose to 261,255, an increase of 7.36 percent compared with April and 48.32 percent compared with a year ago. That included 112,731 default filings, 74,730 sale notices and 73,794 REOs.
“May was the third straight month where we’ve seen a month-to-month increase in foreclosure activity and the 29th straight month we’ve seen a year-over-year increase,” James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac’s CEO, noted in today’s report.
“The nationwide rate of increase for default notices and foreclosure auction notices slowed in May, with default notices up just 1 percent from the previous month and auction notices down 3 percent from the previous month,” he said.
“However, bank repossessions continued to surge in May – posting a double-digit percentage increase from the previous month, and more than twice the number reported in May 2007 – which pushed the total inventory of bank-owned REOs in our database to more than 700,000,” Saccacio said.
May’s average foreclosure-sale rate nationwide – excluding default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions – was one filing for every 483 households.
Rhode Island had the nation’s 18th highest rate, up from 24th in April, 25th in March and 26th in February, with one filing for every 823 households last month.
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The Bay State was No. 8 nationwide, worsening from its rankings of 10th place in April, 9th in March and 16th in February, with a May rate of one filing for every 406 households.
Nevada remained No. 1 for the 17th consecutive month, with one filing for every 118 households. California remained No. 2, with one filing for every 204 households. Arizona, with one filing for every 201 households, was No. 3 for a second month. Filling out the Top 10 were Florida, at No. 4, followed by Michigan, Georgia, Colorado, Massachusetts, Ohio and New Jersey.
Among metropolitan areas, Las Vegas was the only region outside California and Florida to have a foreclosure rate in the top 10, RealtyTrac said. “It’s definitely a different kind of market than what we got used to a couple years ago,” Devin Reiss, owner of Realty 500 Reiss Corp. in the hard-hit city, told Bloomberg News. “We used to sell homes in a day. Now, 50 percent of our sales are foreclosures.”
Las Vegas had one foreclosure-sale filing for every 96 households in May, more than five times the national average and No. 6 among the metro areas, RealtyTrac said. (No. 1 was Stockton, Calif., with one filing for every 75 households.)
RealtyTrac Inc. is a publisher of data and advice for real estate markets nationwide. To learn more, visit www.RealtyTrac.com.
