The nation's foreclosure inventory fell by nearly a third last year, according to data put out by CoreLogic Wednesday.
/>By the end of December, the company estimates about 837,000 homes were in some state of foreclosure, down 31% from 1.2 million homes at the end of 2012. The year-end figure accounts for about 2.1 percent of all homes with a mortgage. Foreclosure completions were also down in December, though they continued at more than double the average rate recorded before the crash.
In its first meeting this year, the Federal Open Market Committee voted to once again cut back on the Federal Reserve's bond-buying program. Starting in February, the Fed will scale its monthly purchases to a combined $65 billion, down $10 billion from January's pace. The meeting was the last to be held under the leadership of Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, who will depart at the end of this month. Taking over is Janet Yellen, who analysts expect will push to keep economic policies on their current track.