The ongoing fallout from the foreclosure crisis has reduced foreclosure activity throughout the country to its lowest level in three years, according toRealtyTrac Inc. Overall activity — default notices, auctions and repossessions — dropped 27 percent in February from the same month last year, the California-based national foreclosure listing service reported. That’s the largest year-to-year decline ever reported.
“Allegations of improper foreclosure processing continued to dog the mortgage servicing industry,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement. “The industry is in the midst of a major overhaul that has severely restricted its capacity to process foreclosures. We expect to see the numbers bounce back, but that will likely take several months.”
Activity, however, may never reach the peak hit in March 2010 when more than 367,000 properties receiving foreclosure filings, Saccacio said.
Nevada posted the nation’s highest level of foreclosure activity for the 50th straight month in February despite a 22 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month. Arizona and California rounded out the top three states. For the second month in a row, no Florida cities posted foreclosure rates in the top 20 among major metropolitan areas. In contrast, the sunshine state had nine cities posting in the top 20 metro foreclosure rates throughout 2010.