ForeclosureS.com: Is the End Near? April Foreclosures and Pre-Foreclosures Drop

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The nation’s foreclosure hemorrhage slowed a bit last month. Lenders repossessed 74,570 homes following foreclosure in April, down more than 5% from March. April pre-foreclosures dropped 7.52% from March too, according to California-based ForeclosureS.com (www.foreclosures.com) foreclosure information specialists.

“The sky isn’t falling, and the bottom of the housing market is in sight,” says Alexis McGee, foreclosure information expert, educator, and president of ForeclosureS.com.

ForeclosureS.com, the original foreclosure website now with an expanded data base of more than 5.5 million property listings, has been the professional’s source for accurate foreclosure property information for more than two decades. The company bases its analysis on the number of formal notices filed against a property during the foreclosure process. That can include notice of default, notice of foreclosure auction, and trustee’s deeds/REOs (real estate owned by lender through foreclosure).

In the 1^st quarter of the year, 2.8 of every 1,000 households ended up back in lenders hands, up from 2.7 in 4^th quarter 2007 (213,927 1^st quarter filings vs. 197,736 in 4^th quarter 2007). Quarter over quarter 17 states actually had fewer REO filings in April, ForeclosureS.com reports.

“That’s the good news. The bad news is that still 3.8 of every 1,000 households nationwide (288,497 REO filings) have been lost to foreclosure so far this year,” says McGee, also author of The ForeclosureS.com Guide to Advanced Investing Techniques You Won't Learn Anywhere Else (Wiley) and The ForeclosureS.com Guide to Investing in Pre-foreclosures Without Selling Your Soul (Wiley).

“Another 696,925 pre-foreclosure filings—9.4 of every 1,000 households—have been recorded year-to-date with 179,046 filings in April,” adds McGee.

“The numbers tell us the economy isn’t dead,” adds McGee. “U.S. gross domestic product was not negative as many had speculated and grew 0.6 % in the first quarter. Combine that with positive moves by government and industry—including the still-evolving FHA reform and tax credits, along with federal tax rebates—are making a difference. The S&P 500, after dropping nearly 19% Oct. 9 to March 9, has since rebounded 11%. New jobless claims were lower than expected, and even Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is upbeat, predicting a pick-up in growth later this year,” says McGee.

Let’s look closer at more REO and Pre-Foreclosure April 2008 numbers from ForeclosureS.com:

• States with the most REO filings by household YTD include: Mississippi (17.2 for every 1,000 households; 885 filings), Arizona (12.6 per 1,000; 23,841 filings), Nevada (11.3 per 1,000; 8,233 filings), Colorado (7.5 per 1,000; 11,721 filings), and Michigan (6.7 per 1,000; 20,069 filings).
• REO filings by household by region YTD: Southwest, 5.4 filings per 1,000 households, up 116 percent from YTD 2007, up from 3.9 filings per 1,000 1^st quarter 2008, and 3.3 in 4^th quarter 2007; Midwest, 3.9 filings vs. 3.2 YTD 2007, 3 per 1,000 1^st quarter 2008, and 3.1 per 1,000 households 4^th quarter 2007; Southeast, 3.8 filings YTD vs. 2.4 a year ago, 2.9 1^st quarter 2008, 2.8 per 1,000 households 4^th quarter 2007; Northeast, 0.8 filings per 1,000 households YTD, up from 0.6 YTD 2007, 0.6 1st quarter 2008, and 0.7 4^th quarter 2007.
• States with the highest number of REO filings YTD: California, 70,863 filings (6.2 per 1,000 households); Florida, 24,764 (4 per 1,000); Arizona, 23,841 (12.6 per 1,000); Texas, 22,521 (3.8 per 1,000), and Michigan, 20,069 (6.7 per 1,000). Among these top five, quarter over quarter the number of filings dropped in Texas (17,042 1^st quarter ’08 vs. 19,573 4^th quarter ’07) and in Michigan (14,749 vs. 16,986).
• States with the most pre-foreclosure filings by household YTD include: Nevada, 31.5 per 1,000 households (23,264 filings); Arizona, 28.7 per 1,000 (54,059 filings); Florida, 25.6 per 1,000 (162,316 filings, leading the nation in filings); California, 13.9 per 1,000 (160,044 filings), and New Jersey, 9.6 per 1,000 (28,825 filings). (All these states are among the top 10 in numbers of filings, with March to April numbers down in Nevada and California—down 24.68% and 17.58% respectively.)

For expert commentary and in person interviews please contact Alexis McGee, President, ForeclosureS.com at alexis@foreclosures.com or call 800-310-7730 x122.

Please visit our site for detailed Foreclosure Statistics for your state or county: http://www.foreclosures.com/stats/.

For help using our Statistics Pages please contact support@foreclosures.com or call 800-310-7730 x3.