Foreclosure filings drop, Florida is an unlikely Winner
Continue Reading Add comment February 12th, 2009
Foreclosure activity dropped 10% from December to January although it’s still up 18% from January 2008. New numbers from RealtyTrac show that foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 274,399 U.S. properties during the month. The report also shows one in every 466 U.S. homes received a foreclosure filing in January.
“The extensive foreclosure efforts on the part of lenders and government agencies appear to have impacted the January numbers — particularly the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac moratorium on all foreclosure sales that was extended through the end of January along with Florida’s voluntary 45-day freeze on all new foreclosure actions and scheduling of foreclosure sales that was announced at the beginning of December,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “January REOs, which represent completed foreclosure sales to the foreclosing lender, were down 15% nationwide from the previous month.”
The big winner, or non-loser, was Florida where overall foreclosure activity was down 20% from December.