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DS News Webcast: Thursday 8/14/2014

Foreclosure, REO, News, Webcast

Foreclosure activity on U.S. housing units showed a 2 percent increase in July from the previous month but was still down 16 percent from the same month last year, according to RealtyTrac's July 2014 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report released today. The study showed that more than 109,000 housing units reported some type of foreclosure activity in July. RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist reported that July was the 46th consecutive month that foreclosure activity in the U.S. decreased year-over-year.

Despite the national year-over-year decrease, the percentage of foreclosure activity increased from this time last year in five of the nation's top 20 metro areas: Houston, Texas; Washington, D.C.; and three California metros, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Riverside-San Bernardino. Florida experienced the highest year-over-year decrease in foreclosure filings at 30 percent, but still had the highest state foreclosure rate in the nation for the 10th month in a row. One in every 469 properties in Florida, more than two and a half times the national average, reported foreclosure activity for July.

The national Housing Scorecard compiled by HUD was released today, detailing a smaller number of foreclosure starts and increasing sales among existing homes in July. While the report's highlights weren't all positive, most indicators seem to be moving in the right direction. The only exception came from new home sales, which fell in June and were retroactively revised downward for the month of May. Otherwise, the Scorecard reveals an economy that is recovering slowly-but-surely with corrections being spread out over time.

by Brian Honea