Foreclosure filings were reported on 154,281 U.S. properties in February, an increase of 2 percent from the previous month but still down 25 percent from February 2012, according to the RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for February 2013.
The report also shows one in every 849 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month.
“At a high level the U.S. foreclosure inferno has been effectively contained and should be reduced to a slow burn in the next two years,” said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. “But dangerous foreclosure flare-ups are still popping up in states where foreclosures have been delayed by a lengthy court process or by new legislation making it more difficult to foreclose outside of the court system. Foreclosure starts have been steadily building in those states over the last several months and likely will end up as bank repossessions or short sales later this year.
“These new foreclosure hot spots include states like Washington, where seven straight months of rising foreclosure activity pushed the state’s foreclosure rate to fifth highest nationwide — the highest it’s ever been in our report — and Maryland, where eight straight months of rising foreclosure activity placed the state’s foreclosure rate among the top 10 nationwide for the first time since July 2010,” Blomquist noted.
High-level findings from the report:
U.S. foreclosure starts increased 10 percent from the previous month after three consecutive monthly decreases, but were still down 25 percent from February 2012.
Foreclosure starts increased from the previous month in 32 states and were up from a year ago in 16 states, including Nevada (up 334 percent), Maryland (up 319 percent), Washington (up 172 percent), New York (up 139 percent), and New Jersey (up 70 percent).
U.S. bank repossessions (REO) decreased 11 percent from the previous month and were down 29 percent from February 2012 to the lowest level since September 2007 — a 65-month low.
Bank repossessions decreased from the previous month in 32 states and were down from a year ago in 41 states, including Oregon (down 78 percent), Massachusetts (down 69 percent), Nevada (down 59 percent), Georgia (down 58 percent), and California (down 49 percent).
Florida posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the sixth consecutive month in February, reporting one in every 282 housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month.
Florida cities accounted for seven of the nation’s 10 highest metro foreclosure rates in February, led by the Miami, Orlando, Ocala, Tampa and Palm Bay metro areas in the top five spots.
Florida, Nevada, Illinois post highest state foreclosure rates
Florida’s foreclosure rate ranked highest among the states for the sixth month in a row in February. One in every 282 Florida housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month — more than three times the national average. A total of 31,726 Florida properties had a foreclosure filing during the month, up 6 percent from the previous month and up 20 percent from February 2012 to a 16-month high.
Nevada foreclosure starts in February increased 334 percent from a year ago to a 17-month high, keeping the state’s foreclosure rate as the second highest nationwide for the fifth month in a row. One in every 320 Nevada housing units had a foreclosure filing in February, more than twice the national average.
Despite the third straight month-over-month decrease in foreclosure activity in February, Illinois posted the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate for the second month in a row: one in every 417 housing units with a foreclosure filing. A total of 12,671 Illinois properties had a foreclosure filing in February, down 10 percent from the previous month and down 5 percent from February 2012.
Ohio foreclosure activity increased 26 percent from the previous month and was up 12 percent from a year ago, boosting the state’s foreclosure rate to the fourth highest among the states. Ohio foreclosure activity has increased on an annual basis in 11 out of the past 13 months.
Washington foreclosure activity increased on an annual basis for the seventh consecutive month in February, helping to push the state’s foreclosure rate to fifth highest nationwide. February’s No. 5 ranking was the highest foreclosure rate ranking for Washington since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in January 2005. A total of 4,362 Washington properties had a foreclosure filing during the month, an increase of 123 percent from February 2012 and one in every 656 housing units.
Maryland foreclosure activity increased on an annual basis for the eighth consecutive month in February, driven largely by a 319 percent jump in foreclosure starts, lifting the state’s foreclosure rate to the ninth highest nationwide. February was the first month since July 2010 that Maryland’s foreclosure rate ranked among the top 10 nationwide.
Foreclosure activity was flat or decreased from a year ago in the other four states with foreclosure rates among the top 10: Arizona at No. 6 (one in 704 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Georgia at No. 7 (one in 705 housing units); Utah at No. 8 (one in 713 housing units); and Michigan at No. 10 (one in 724 housing units).
Although California foreclosure starts rebounded 47 percent in February from an 88-month low in January, overall foreclosure activity in the state was down from a year ago for the 15th straight month, dropping the foreclosure rate down to No. 13 nationwide. February was the first month since December 2006 where the California foreclosure rate was not ranked among the top 10 state foreclosure rates nationwide.
Florida cities account for seven of top 10 metro foreclosure rates
Reporting one in every 219 housing units with a foreclosure filing in February, the Miami metro area posted the nation’s highest foreclosure rate among metropolitan statistical areas with a population of 200,000 or more.
Six other Florida metro areas documented foreclosure rates in the top 10: Orlando at No. 2 (one in 225 housing units with a foreclosure filing); Ocala at No. 3 (one in 243 housing units); Tampa at No. 4 (one in 253 housing units); Palm Bay at No. 5 (one in 260 housing units); Jacksonville at No. 8 (one in 302 housing units); and Naples at No. 9 (one in 318 housing units). Foreclosure activity increased from a year ago in all seven Florida cities with top 10 metro foreclosure rates.
Other cities with foreclosure rates in the top 10 were Las Vegas at No. 6 (one in 283 housing units); Rockford, Ill., at No. 7 (one in 291 housing units); and Chicago at No. 10 (one in 331 housing units).
Five cities posted annual increases in foreclosure activity among the nation’s 20 largest metropolitan areas in terms of population: Baltimore (up 145 percent), Seattle (up 129 percent), New York (up 44 percent), Tampa (up 24 percent), and Miami (up 20 percent).