Foreclosure Rate Drops Nationally, CT Better Than National Average
/Foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 150,864 properties across the U.S. during January, a decrease of 7 percent from the previous month and down 28 percent from January 2012. The report - by RealtyTrac®, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties and real estate data - shows one in every 869 U.S. housing units with a foreclosure filing during the month, down 28 percent from a year ago to the lowest level since June 2006 — a 79-month low. Each of Connecticut’s eight counties is below the national average, and the state continues to be outside the top 10 states for the number of foreclosures, according to the U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for January 2013. The prevalence of foreclosures, based on the number of housing units, was greatest in Windham, Tolland, and New Haven Counties.
The Florida foreclosure rate ranked highest among the states for the fifth month in a row. One in every 300 Florida housing units had a foreclosure filing in January — more than twice the national average. A total of 29,800 Florida properties had a foreclosure filing during the month, up 12 percent from the previous month and up 20 percent from January 2012.
With one in every 344 housing units with a foreclosure filing in January, Nevada posted the nation’s second highest foreclosure rate for the fourth consecutive month. A 32 percent month-over-month jump in scheduled foreclosure auctions helped the Illinois foreclosure rate rise to third highest among the states in January. One in every 375 Illinois housing units had a foreclosure filing during the month.
Other states with foreclosure rates among the nation’s 10 highest were Arizona (one in 501 housing units with a foreclosure filing), Georgia (one in 513 housing units), Ohio (one in 612 housing units), Washington (one in 674 housing units), California (one in 753 housing units), Indiana (one in 784 housing units), and Michigan (one in every 837 housing units).
In Connecticut, New Haven County had the largest number of foreclosures in January, with 317, followed by Hartford County with 265 and Fairfield County with 193. Overall, Connecticut had 5,187 home foreclosures during the month, with the average foreclosure sales price of $186,405. The county-by-county breakdown:
- Windham 51 foreclosure properties 1 in every 958 housing units
- Tolland 52 foreclosure properties 1 in every 1,109 housing units
- New Haven 317 foreclosure properties 1 in every 1,138 housing units
- Hartford 265 foreclosure properties 1 in every 1,409 housing units
- Litchfield 57 foreclosure properties 1 in every 1,530 housing units
- New London 78 foreclosure properties 1 in every 1,546 housing units
- Fairfield 193 foreclosure properties 1 in every 1,865 housing units
- Middlesex 37 foreclosure properties 1 in every 2,013 housing units
In New Haven County, the numbers were driven by Waterbury with 84 foreclosures and New Haven with 59. West Haven had 38 during the month. In Hartford County, there were 44 foreclosures in New Britain, 35 in East Hartford and 26 in Manchester, according to the data provided by RealtyTrac.