There were 57,000 completed foreclosures in August 2012, down 75,000 a year prior and 58,000 from the previous month, according to a CoreLogic report.
August’s numbers were the lowest since April 2010.
“The continuing downward trend in foreclosures and a gradual clearing of the shadow inventory are important signals that the recovery in housing is gaining traction,” President and CEO of CoreLogic, Anand Nallathambi, said in a statement that accompanied its monthly National Foreclosure Report.
North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, D.C., Hawaii and Maine had the lowest number of foreclosures in the last year, while California, Florida, Michigan, Texas and Georgia have the highest number of foreclosure inventory as a percentage of all mortgaged houses. Those five states account for 48 percent of all national foreclosures. Florida is still the most stricken state, with 11 percent of all mortgaged homes in foreclosure. There have been approximately 3.8 million completed foreclosures since the financial crisis began. — Jane C. Timm