Foreclosure Starts Hit 10-Year Low: Black Knight

Foreclosure starts dropped nearly 17% from a year earlier last month, falling to their lowest level in a decade, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

The process of foreclosure was initiated on 58,700 homes in April, the Jacksonville, Fla., company said Tuesday. The total number of properties in foreclosure presale inventory dipped 36,000 units from March to 595,000, the first time this figure has dropped below 600,000 since 2007.

The percentage of mortgages in presale foreclosure inventory was 1.17%, an improvement of 5.9% month-over-month and of 27.8% from a year earlier.

Mississippi held the dubious distinction of having the highest percentage of properties behind on the mortgage, at 11.04%, while North Dakota had the lowest noncurrent rate, with 2.17%.

Nebraska topped Florida and the rest of the country by having the largest six-month improvement in its noncurrent percentage, a drop of 19.7%. Alaska had the most pronounced deterioration, with its noncurrent percentage rising by 19.29% over the last six months. North Dakota's rate also rose, by 2.33%

Black Knight also said Tuesday that the monthly prepayment rate slowed to 1.26%, a decrease of 3.24% from March and 7.25% from last April, reflecting a decrease in refinance activity.

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