Florida cities now make up the bulk of the top 10, according to November data from the foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac.
Stockton and Modesto - which have topped the list in recent months - have now slipped to numbers six and seven respectively.
Fewer foreclosures mean not as many bank-owned properties for sale…and that's affected the rest of the market in a good way for sellers.
"Prices are going up because we don't have the supply and we still have the demand."
Patrick Wallace is the incoming president of the Central
Valley Association of Realtors…and a broker for RE/MAX Executive in
Modesto.
"Our sales prices are up about 17% from January to
present. So every percentage point or fraction of percentage point
that the prices go up that takes more people out of the underwater
market."
Wallace says just because a home is foreclosed on doesn't
necessarily mean it will hit the market for re-sale.
"We are hearing stories that some of the banks are leaving the
homeowners in there and working out arrangements where they may
have taken the property back but they're leaving the homeowner in
there to rent back the property and maintain the
property."
San Joaquin County foreclosure rates fell by nearly 20% from
October to November and declined by 54% compared to November of
last year.
Meanwhile, Sacramento County had the nation's 11th
highest foreclosure rate in November…with one-in-every 309 housing
units getting a foreclosure filing. That's down nearly 13% from
October…and it's a 52% drop from November of last year.
Statewide, 31,794 properties in California…or one-in-every-430
housing units…got some type of foreclosure filing last month. That
was down 11.82% from October. And it was a whopping 50.08% decrease
from November of last year.
Foreclosure starts - meaning homes just entering the process -
are also down from a year ago by 63%.
RealtyTrac analysts wsay the drop in foreclosure starts is
more evidence that we're past the worst of the foreclosure problem.
But they warn: lenders are still adjusting to new foreclosure
ground rules set by the state and federal governments, so we could
see an uptick in bank repossessions.
California had the nation's fourth highest foreclosure rate in
November - behind Florida, Nevada and Illinois.