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Foreclosures decline in July

A major indicator of residential housing market health is the continued decline in foreclosures. This trend may not only be positive for current homeowners, but also potential homebuyers, as they may feel more confident that their investment will go well. Title insurers also may benefit from this boost in confidence, as they could experience a heightened level of activity.

During July, the total level of foreclosure filings totaled 109,434 units, 16 percent lower than the same month in 2013, according to the latest U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from RealtyTrac. The level was still 2 percent higher than in June, but the yearly progress continued an important trend.

"July was the 46th consecutive month where U.S. foreclosure activity was down on a year-over-year basis," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac. "After nearly four years of falling foreclosures, we are starting to see evidence that foreclosure numbers are normalizing at the national level. The 16 percent decrease in July was exactly half the annual decrease we saw a year ago in July 2013, when U.S. foreclosure activity was down 32 percent on a year-over-year basis."

The measurement of foreclosure filings include any default notices handed out, bank repossessions and scheduled auctions, the report showed. In July, one out of every 1,203 units received some type of filing.

Separate report tells similar story
Another measurement of the residential housing market's delinquent loan situation showed similar improvements during this year.

Overall delinquencies reached a rate of 6.04 percent during the second quarter, 92 basis points lower than the same quarter in 2013, according to the National Delinquency Survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. It also slid seven basis points from the first quarter's rate.

The total level of foreclosure actions during the second quarter dropped to 0.4 percent, the report noted. This was five basis points lower than the previous quarter's level.

"Delinquency and foreclosure rates fell to their lowest levels in more than six years, and the rate of new foreclosure starts is at its lowest level since 2006," said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at MBA. "Strong job growth and continued increases in home prices in most markets have been the main contributors to these steady improvements in mortgage performance."

Serious delinquencies were just 4.8 percent of all loans in the second quarter, the report added. This was 24 basis points lower than the first quarter's figure.

By: Equity National   August 15, 2014     Closing

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