Foreclosure Rate Down 27% From 2012

The number of distressed properties last month decreased 27% from September 2012, with a little less than 1.3 million properties in some stage of foreclosure (default, auction or bank owned). That’s one in every 998 homes in foreclosure across the nation.

Data from real estate site RealtyTrac showed that while foreclosures were up 2% from August, filings have continued to fall over the course of this past year. Prices of those foreclosed homes have also declined, in conjunction with rising values of non-distressed properties, resulting in a more significant discount.

In August, the most recent sales data available on RealtyTrac, the discount on foreclosed homes was 39.5%, or an average of $73,900. That’s an increased discount of $3,900 (5.6%) from last year, at a median sale price of $113,000. The median sale price for a non-distressed property in August was $186,900.

But the news isn’t good everywhere.

Foreclosure activity spiked 104% in Nevada from July to August, as it overtook Florida as the state with the most foreclosures. It remained on top in September with activity increasing 44% from August. With 1 in every 249 properties in foreclosure, Nevada’s foreclosure rate is up 97% from September 2012.

Florida, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey join Nevada as the five states with the highest foreclosure rates. In June, one in every 328 Florida homes had a foreclosure filing, and the rate has declined to one in 406 in September.