WASHINGTON — The U.S. housing market continues to clean up its eight-year-old foreclosure mess, with foreclosure inventory nationwide in September down 31.3 percent from a year ago, and completed foreclosures down 7 percent from September 2015.
In the Washington metro, the foreclosure inventory rate in September was just 0.8 percent, down 30.1 percent from a year earlier, and among the nation’s lowest.
There were 36,000 completed foreclosures nationwide in September, down 69.7 percent from the peak of 118,222 in September 2010, according to data from real estate firm CoreLogic Inc.
Foreclosure inventory represents the number of homes at some stage of the foreclosure process, and completed foreclosures reflect the total number of homes lost to foreclosure.
Since the financial crisis began in late 2008, there have been 6.4 million completed foreclosures nationally, and since homeownership rates peaked in the second quarter of 2004, there have been 8.5 million homes lost to foreclosure, CoreLogic reports.
“Completed foreclosures have fallen by a total of more than 100,000 homes during the 12 months prior to September 2016, said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.
“The decline in foreclosures is one of the drivers in the drop in vacancies, which is positive for homeowners and communities.”
The two metros with the highest foreclosure inventory remain New York and Miami. The foreclosure inventory rate in the statistical area that includes New York City, Jersey City and White Plaines, was 2.6 percent in September.
In Miami, Miami Beach and Kendall, Florida, it was 2.2 percent.
