USA Today
WASHINGTON — Foreclosure notices more than doubled from a year ago, but sales of new single-family homes were stronger than expected in June, falling just 0.6% to a 530,000 annual pace, two separate reports showed Friday.
Foreclosure filings rose 14% in the second quarter, eighth consecutive quarterly climb, and up 121% from the same period a year-earlier, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said Friday. Filings were reported on 739,714 properties.
The figure is a total of default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions between April and June.
“Although much of the fallout from foreclosures is being driven by rampant activity in a few states, such as Nevada, California, Florida, Ohio, Arizona and Michigan, most areas of the country are seeing at least some increase in foreclosure activity,” James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said.
In the new-homes report, economists polled by Reuters were expecting sales to slow to a 500,000 seasonally adjusted annual sales rate from May’s previously reported 512,000 pace. May’s sales rate was revised up to 533,000, the Commerce Department said. Still, new home sales in June were down a sharp 33.2% from a year ago.
But the inventory of homes available for sale shrank 5.3% to 426,000, lowest since December 2004. The June sales pace put the supply of homes available for sale at 10 months’ worth.
The median sale price rose to $230,900 from $227,700 from May, but was down 2% from a year earlier, the government said.
Soft housing sales, declining home values, tighter lending standards and a sluggish U.S. economy have left strapped homeowners with few options to avoid foreclosure. Many can’t find buyers or owe more than their home is worth and can’t refinance into an affordable loan.
Foreclosure filings increased year-over-year in all but two states, North Dakota and Alaska.
Nevada, California, Arizona, and Florida continued have the highest foreclosure rates. One in every 43 Nevada households received a filing during the quarter.
Cities in California and Florida accounted for 16 of the worst 20 metro foreclosure rates. Stockton, Calif., had the worst rate, with one in every 25 homes in the town receiving a foreclosure filing. That’s nearly seven times the national average.
RealtyTrac monitors default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions. Banks took back more than 222,000 properties nationwide in the second quarter, the company said. Bank repossessions accounted for 30% of total foreclosure activity, up from 24% in the previous quarter.
Economists estimated 2.5 million homes nationwide will enter the foreclosure process this year, up from about 1.5 million in 2007.
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