Foreclosures Decline Nationally But NJ Backlog Still 2nd Highest

According to Housing Wire, the nation’s supply of homes in some stage of foreclosure fell 23% in March, declining from 1.5 million housing units a year earlier to 1.1 million distressed properties, CoreLogic said in a new report Tuesday.

While foreclosure filings were dropping year-over-year, the number of completed foreclosure actions actually rose 6% from February to March. Still, the overall trend is for foreclosures to continue to decline. From the years 2000 through 2006, the nation averaged roughly 21,000 foreclosures per month. Since the onset of the crisis, CoreLogic estimates 4.2 million homes have been lost to foreclosure,

The states with the highest foreclosure inventory rate based on the percentage of all mortgaged homes includes Florida, which boasts a 9.7% foreclosure inventory rate. New Jersey comes in second with a 7.3% foreclosure inventory rate, while New York, Maine and Illinois maintain foreclosure inventory rates between 4.4% and 5%.