This morning, RealtyTrac released their U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for May 2012 which shows that foreclosure filings (default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions) we’re reported on 1,872 properties in St. Louis during the month, a 4.41 percent increase from the previous month and an increase of 16.71 percent from May 2011. During the month, 1 out of every 667 homes in St. Louis had a foreclosure filing.
Foreclosure activity in U.S. decreases on a year-over-year basis for the 20th straight month
The reports shows there were foreclosure filings on 205,990 U.S. properties in May, an increase of 9 percent from April but still down 4 percent from May 2011. The report also shows one in every 639 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month.
“U.S. foreclosure activity has now decreased on a year-over-basis for 20 straight months including May, but the jump in May foreclosure starts shows that it’s going to be a bumpy ride down to the bottom of this foreclosure cycle,” said Brandon Moore, CEO of RealtyTrac. “Based on the rise in pre-foreclosure sales we’ve seen so far this year, a higher percentage of these new foreclosure starts will likely end up as short sales or auction sales to third parties rather than bank repossessions going forward. While pre-foreclosure sales have less of a negative impact on home values than bank-owned sales, they still represent a discounted sale where a distressed homeowner is losing his or her home.
Report highlights:
- Foreclosure activity rose back up above the 200,000 level in May after two consecutive months below 200,000.
- Foreclosure starts nationwide increased on an annual basis after 27 consecutive months of year-over-year declines.
- Judicial states combined posted a 26 percent year-over-year increase in overall foreclosure activity while non-judicial states combined posted a 20 percent year-over-year decrease in foreclosure activity.
- Foreclosure starts increased on a year-over-year basis in 17 of the 26 judicial states and in 16 of the 24 non-judicial states.
- Georgia leapfrogged past Arizona, Florida, California and Nevada to post the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in May, the first time since February 2006 that Georgia’s foreclosure rate has ranked highest among the states.
Foreclosure Starts Increase in 33 of 50 States:
- Foreclosure starts (default notices or scheduled foreclosure auctions, depending on the state) were filed on 109,051 U.S. properties in May, a 12 percent increase from April and a 16 percent increase from May 2011.
- Foreclosure starts increased annually in 33 out of the 50 states. States with some of the biggest annual increases in foreclosure starts included the judicial foreclosure states of New Jersey (118 percent), Pennsylvania (97 percent), Florida (83 percent), Massachusetts (60 percent), New York (59 percent), South Carolina (43 percent), Ohio (32 percent) and Illinois (28 percent), and the non-judicial foreclosure states of Tennessee (165 percent), Texas (51 percent), Missouri (35 percent), Georgia (30 percent), and Michigan (24 percent).
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