Foreclosure volume was down 3% for the first six months of 2015 compared with the same time span
The number of foreclosures shrank 13% from the last six months of 2014, but that is a somewhat less significant comparison given seasonal differences. A total of over 304,000 properties started the foreclosure process in the first half of 2015, down 4% from the year before, and 18% below the number of foreclosure starts for the first half of 2006, which was the last half-year period before the housing bust started that August.
"U.S. foreclosure starts have not only returned to prehousing-crisis levels, they have fallen well below those precrisis levels and are still searching for a floor," said RealtyTrac vice president Daren Blomquist in a press release.
"Loans originated in the last five years continue to perform better than historic norms, with tighter lending standards and more cautious borrower behavior acting as important guardrails for the real estate boom of the past three years."
However, bank repossessions were 37% above precrisis levels, according to RealtyTrac's measurements. Repossessions rose 20% from a year ago. Blomquist attributed those figures to the residual effect of loans made prior to the crisis yet still lingering seven to eight years after the housing bubble burst.
"Less-disciplined loans originated during the last housing boom continue to account for the majority of distress still hanging over the housing market, with two-thirds of all loans in foreclosure on loans originated between 2004 and 2008," he said in the release.
"An increasing number of these failed bubble-era loans finally exited the foreclosure process in the first half of 2015, resulting in accelerating bank repossessions that are still well above precrisis levels along with record-long average foreclosure timelines for properties foreclosed in the second quarter."
First-half repossessions rose above 2006 levels in 35 states, including several of those hit hard by the housing crisis like California, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Nevada.
Florida, New Jersey and Maryland accounted for the highest foreclosure rates in the country, though Florida's foreclosure volume dropped 22% from the year before. About one in 95 (1.06%) of residential properties in Florida was the subject of a foreclosure filing in the first half of 2015, the company said. New Jersey's foreclosure rate increased by 24% from the same time a year ago while Maryland's remained relatively stable, albeit comparatively high.
Unsurprisingly given the recent troubles in the casino business,
Eight of the top 20 largest metro areas in the country saw increases in foreclosure volume compared to a year ago, with Boston (29%), St. Louis (25%), New York (24%), Houston (19%) and Dallas (19%) leading the way.
