Delinquencies, Foreclosures, and Inventories Improve in CoreLogic Data

According to CoreLogic, the Santa AnarnCalifornia based provider of information and business services, there were arntotal of 830,000 foreclosures nationwide in 2011 compared to 1.1 million inrn2010.  The most recent monthly numbers, forrnDecember 2011, were down from foreclosures both a month earlier and in Decemberrn2010.  </p

There were 55,000 foreclosures duringrnthe month of December, a drop of 2,000 from the November total and arnsignificant decrease from a year earlier when there were 67,000, a -15 percentrnchange.  According to CoreLogic, therernhave been approximately 3.2 million foreclosures since the beginning of thernfinancial crisis in September 2008.</p

The foreclosure inventory – the stock ofrnhomes in the process of foreclosure – also decreased on an annual and acceleratingrnbasis.  There were 1.4 million homes, 3.4rnpercent of all mortgaged homes in the U.S.*, in the inventory in December.  This was a drop of 8.4 percent in therninventory compared to December 2010.  ThernNovember inventory had declined on an annual basis by 5.3 percent.</p

The serious delinquency rate, homeownersrnwho are 90 or more days in arrears on their mortgage payments, improved to 7.3rnpercent in December from 7.8 percent one year earlier but was up one basisrnpoint compared to November.</p

CoreLogic provides a metric thatrnindicates the rate at which servicers are processing distressed assets.  The distressed clearing ratio is calculatedrnby dividing the number of sales of lender-owned properties (REO) by completedrnforeclosures.  The higher the ratio thernfaster the REO inventory is clearing.  InrnDecember the ratio was 1.03; in November it was 0.94.</p

Mark Fleming, chief economist withrnCoreLogic, commented, “The inventory of foreclosed properties has begun tornshrink and the pace at which properties are entering foreclosure isrnslowing.  While foreclosure filings arernbeing curtailed by a variety of judicial and regulatory constraints, mortgagernservicers are completing REO sales faster than they are completing foreclosures.  This is the first time in a year that REOrnsales have outpaced completed foreclosures and part of the reason for the decreasernin the foreclosure inventory.”</p

Of the top 100 markets tracked by CoreLogic,rn34 showed an increase in the foreclosure inventory in December versus one yearrnearlier.  In November inventories in 46rnof the markets had increased.</p

States with the highest percentage of foreclosurerninventories were Florida (11.9), New Jersey (6.4), Illinois (5.4), Nevada (5.4)rnand New York (4.6).</p

*Approximately one-third of U.S. homesrnare owned without a mortgage.  Thesernproperties do not enter into the calculations of distressed clearing ratios.

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