RealtyTrac: Q1 foreclosure rate at lowest since 2007

Foreclosure filings in the first quarter of 2012 were down 16 percent from the same period in 2011, according to the latest U.S. Foreclosure Market Report from RealtyTrac, released Thursday. This marks the lowest quarterly foreclosure total since the fourth quarter of 2007. The same data indicates filings dropped 2 percent from the previous quarter.

In all, 527,740 properties went through foreclosure filings in the first quarter of 2012; that comes to a rate of one in every 230 housing units.

The overall decrease is especially significant when comparing states that use judicial foreclosure processes with those that don’t. Amongst the 24 states with a non-judicial process, 20 showed significant year-over-year decreases; Arkansas led this group with a 79 percent drop.

Conversely, the 26 judicial states saw a collective 10 percent increase in foreclosure activity from the first quarter of 2011. Indiana saw the greatest individual upswing at 45 percent.

The number of housing units starting the foreclosure process in March 2012 was down from a year ago as well, even though it increased 7 percent from February to March. Monthly, foreclosure starts rose in 31 states, led by Nevada at 153 percent.

In fact, Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate of all states in the first quarter, with one in every 95 houses filing. That rate was a 26 percent decline from the previous quarter. For the month of March alone, Arizona narrowly took the top spot, with one in every 300 homes foreclosing.

RealtyTrac’s report also measured the length of the foreclosure process, from start to finish, which was extended at the national level but down in certain key states. In California, the average length of foreclosure fell by 32 days from the previous quarter. There were also decreases in Colorado, Utah, Massachusetts, Nevada, Michigan, and Maryland.

To read the full RealtyTrac report, click here.