Survey Finds Foreclosures Down on Month-to-Month Basis

Foreclosure filings decreased nearly 1% compared to July, according to the RealtyTrac August 2009 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, but when compared to the same month of 2008 filings increased by 18%. Nevada remains at the top of the chart with one in every 62 housing units seeing a foreclosure filing in August. When compared to the same month in 2008 the number of properties receiving foreclosure filings in Nevada is 53% higher, however, the state saw a higher than national average decrease of 8% when compared to July 2009. "The August report demonstrates that there is still an ample supply of properties filling the foreclosure pipeline even while the outflow of bank-owned REO properties onto the resale market is being more carefully regulated," says RealtyTrac CEO, James J. Saccacio. "After hitting a high for the year in July, REOs dropped 13% in August, but we also saw a record high number of properties either entering default or being scheduled for a public foreclosure auction for the first time." The RealtyTrac data indicates foreclosure filings, default notices and bank repossessions may have reached a plateau as more bank-owned properties are sold at market-adjusted prices.