October proved to be the worst month this year for foreclosures, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.
But Maryland is bucking the trend in foreclosures, according to the report, titled “October 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report.”
RealtyTrac looks at the total number of homes entering some stage of foreclosure nationwide and by state during the preceding month. The data includes properties in all phases of foreclosure including legal defaults, notice of defaults and notice of trustee sales because of default.
The report found that 115,568 properties nationwide entered some stage of foreclosure during October ? the highest reported this year and a 42 percent jump from October 2005.
The rate of foreclosure worked out to one filing for every 1,001 U.S. households, the highest monthly foreclosure rate reported so far this year.
“So far this year more than 1 million properties have entered some stage of foreclosure nationwide, up 27 percent from the same time last year,” said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
“Monthly foreclosure filings hit their highest mark of the year so far in October, mirroring the trend from last year, when the most foreclosures of the year were also reported in October. Our data from the last three months shows that foreclosures are definitely trending upward, putting more pressure on an already-strained housing market, and placing buyers and investors in the driver?s seat when it comes to negotiating home purchases.”
Maryland?s foreclosure rate fell12.3 percent in October from October 2005. And the rate for October was 32.8 percent down from September 2006.
California had the worst rate with 16,000 properties entering some stage of foreclosure during October, the most of any state for the second straight month and an increase of more than 8 percent from the previous month.
In related developments, Freddie Mac, the nation?s largest mortgage underwriter, reported that the worst of the housing slowdown may be in the past. The agency reported to dropping mortgage rates as one indication.
Freddie Mac reported that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to an average 6.24 percent this week and one-year adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 5.53 percent.
“We’ve probably seen the worst of the housing slump, although it may not have entirely bottomed out yet,” Freddie Mac chief economist Frank Nothaft said.
