Austin REAL ESTATE

Rate of New Foreclosures Shows Decline
The national foreclosure rate is moderating with the number of foreclosures in February rising 6 percent compared to February 2009, the lowest year-over-year increase in four years.

Foreclosure filings, including default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions, were reported on 308,524 U.S. properties during February, a 2 percent decrease compared to January, RealtyTrac also reports.

“The 6 percent year-over-year increase we saw in February was the smallest annual increase we’ve seen since January 2006, when we began calculating year-over-year increases, but it still marked the 50th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in foreclosure activity,” said RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio.

Saccacio said it was too early to call this the beginning of the end of the foreclosure crisis because of the number of homes in limbo due to government programs and other delays.

The 10 states with the higher foreclosure rates are Nevada, Arizona, Florida, California, Michigan, Utah, Idaho, Illinois, Georgia and Maryland.

Six states account for more than 60 percent of the national total: California, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona and Texas.

Source: RealtyTrac (03/11/2010)