Trends

A Year in Foreclosures: Bank-Owned Properties

Written by Mint.com
Published Jun 28, 2010
1 min read
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Despite government efforts to help homeowners keep their homes, the foreclosure crisis continues to ravage towns and neighborhoods throughout the country. During the first quarter of this year, the number of real estate properties that received at least one foreclosure filing increased by 16% compared with the same period in 2009, according to RealtyTrac.com, which tracks foreclosure filings nationwide. (That includes homes at all stages of foreclosure, from receiving a Notice of Default which basically kicks off the process, through auction, to becoming Real Estate Owned, or REO, which means the property has been foreclosed on and purchased by the bank).

The good news is, the rate of new foreclosure filings seems to be tapering off in the areas where it hit the hardest: it actually declined in California (-6%) and Nevada (-16%). Many states, however, saw foreclosure spikes of 50% or more. For more details on the number of new foreclosures and rate increases during the first quarter of 2010 compared with 2009, check out our infographic below. Note that the large percentage increases of foreclosure rate in certain states may be due to a change in RealtyTrac’s data collection methods. (All data is provided by RealtyTrac.com.)