California Foreclosure activity in October fell 5% from September. And it was down 35% from a year ago…the largest drop in more than a year-and-a-half.
"The last time we saw a bigger decrease, or actually the same decrease, was in March 2011."
Daren Blomquist is with RealtyTrac…the foreclosure listing service
that released the numbers.
Blomquist says that 35% decrease continues a downward trend
they've been charting for nearly three years now.
But California still has the 4th highest
foreclosure rate in the country.
"It just takes time to come off these highs even with the
decreases. But to put it in perspective, if we look back at 2005
before the foreclosure crisis really hit in full force the average
number of properties with foreclosure filings was just over 5,000.
"
Last month, just over 36,000 California properties got a
foreclosure filing.
Sacramento had the nation's 15th highest
foreclosure rate in October with just over 3,000 properties
receiving a foreclosure filing. That was a 2% drop from September
and it was down nearly 40% year-over-year.
Blomquist says some other California cities were not as
fortunate.
"There's some strange and maybe a little bit of a concern
in some of the metro areas of California, unlike Sacramento. We saw
a sharp, at least month-over-month, increase in foreclosure
activity in places like Modesto there was a 68% September to
October increase."
Chico saw a 126% month-over-month increase in October. He says
it could be a one-month phenomenon. But if it continues, Blomquist
says it could be a sign that lenders are pushing through another
batch of foreclosures.
Meanwhile, the trend of decreasing home foreclosure rates in
Nevada, because of a state law requiring lenders to file more
paperwork, may be ending. Nevada saw big spikes in home foreclosure
activity in October.
A 40% monthly increase helped push the state's
foreclosure rate to the second highest in the nation. In September,
Nevada had the fifth highest rate.
Blomquist says in Reno, there were just over 300 foreclosure
filings last month.
"That was up 34% from the previous month. So the lenders may
be starting to finally adjust to this new law and push through more
of the foreclosures. I do expect it to continue because it's the
pattern we usually see with this type of legislation - it does
temporarily slow down foreclosures but eventually the lenders are
able to catch up."