Lenders Posted Highest Number of Bank Owned Homes in August

Published by nora | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Communities, Market Trends, Real Estate

Lenders nationwide added 95,364 bank owned homes to their lists in August, the highest monthly total so far since RealtyTrac started tracking bank repossessions in 2006 and higher by nearly two percent than the previous peak of 93,777 units in May this year. The August total was also higher by almost three percent than the 92,858 homes repossessed by banks in the previous month.

Again, California lenders posted the highest number of bank owned homes with a total of 15,218 units, accounting for 16 percent of the nationwide total. Florida was second with a total of 12,329 units, accounting for 13 percent of the total nationwide. These two states were the only ones which posted five-digit totals, as Michigan, the state with the third highest number posted a four-digit total of 5,654 units. Arizona, Georgia and Texas rounded out the top six with 5,615 units, 5,387 units and 5,346 units, respectively.

The top ten states in bank repossessions in August were:

1. California    15,218
2. Florida         12,329
3. Michigan       5,654
4. Arizona          5,615
5. Georgia         5,387
6. Texas             5,346
7. Illinois            4,484
8. Ohio                3,664
9. Nevada           2,699
10. Washington   2,627

Bank repossessions in August accounted for 28.14 percent of the 338,836 homes that were in different stages of the foreclosure process in August. In July, repossessed homes made up 28.55 percent of the total units in foreclosure, almost the same big share.

The 338,836 homes that were either in default or foreclosure in August represented an increase of four percent from July but marked a drop of five percent from August last year. Again, California posted the highest total, which was 69,143, and Florida the second highest, which was 56,877. Third was Michigan with 17,764. Rounding out the top seven were Illinois, Arizona and Georgia, with 16,808 units, 16,510 units and 16,366 units, respectively.

Based on rate of foreclosure, Nevada again topped the list, with one foreclosure for every 84 housing units in the state. Nevada has been on top of the foreclosure rate charts since 2008. Its August total nevertheless marked both a year-over-year and month-over-month decrease. Florida was next with a rate of one in 155, Arizona was third with one in 165 and California was fourth with one in 194.

The newest state on the top ten list was Hawaii, which replaced Maryland, the tenth on the list for the previous three months. Michigan was pushed down the chart by Idaho and Utah, as Michigan continued to improve its housing situation with significant recovery efforts in its automobile manufacturing activities.

Housing analysts said that the rising percentages of bank owned homes and the falling percentages of default notices meant that mortgage lenders were stepping up the foreclosure of homes that have been notified long before while slowing down on filing new default notices as they try to comply with the federal Home Affordable Modification Program.